Joey Barton admitted he was "disappointed" with Bristol Rovers performance despite coming close to pulling off a memorable win at Bolton Wanderers on Friday.
The Gas led for almost the entire contest at the University of Bolton Stadium, with Josh Coburn giving them a flying start after 70 seconds, but promotion-chasing Bolton had Rovers under intense pressure in the second half and they were rewarded deep into stoppage time when substitute Dion Charles curled into the top corner.
Rovers defended their box brilliantly until finally being breached at the last, but as the game wore on they faded as an attacking threat and Barton was unhappy not only with the late leveller but also with his team's play in possession.
The point lifts Rovers to 13th in League One with 25 points from 20 games, while Bolton drop to fifth in the table. The Gas can be pleased with the courage they showed in response to last Sunday's FA Cup humbling by non-league Boreham Wood, but Barton believes they can play much better.
"I’m gutted," Barton told reporters at full time. "We were a minute or so away from getting the job done. It’s a kick in the proverbials, but credit to Bolton, they had us under loads of pressure in the second half and we found it tough to get out of our half and clear our lines.
"While we defended superbly in there, I still think we needed a bit more quality on the transition and if you sit back too deep and they keep putting the ball in your box, eventually they will land with a chance. I’ve watched the goal back and I think there will be a couple of people disappointed with their part in it.
"It’s part of our learning. It’s a sucker punch for us, but we came here and we knew in the past couple of games, we were going to play sides who were top eight or top 10 in the division. Coming to this stadium today off the back of the FA Cup defeat, we were probably not as confident as we could be, but we got off to a great start.
"I’ll level with you, I don’t think we’ve played particularly well. We’ve had little spells in there, but we’re disappointed with our level of performance.
"We’ve defended superbly at times and we were disciplined in that regard, but we can play so much more football. We were nowhere near the level of football team we can be today, and if you don’t operate at your highest performance levels when you come here, you can’t expect to win the game.
"I’m disappointed, but another point gained. We’ll learn the lessons and move the club forward."
Barton was full of praise for Coburn, who scored his fifth goal of the season by sliding in to convert Antony Evans' brilliant low cross into the six-yard area, but the manager pondered whether his team's early goal affected their mindset.
"It’s a fantastic goal and the big man gets in there," he added. "I think Josh was outstanding again today.
"It was a really good team goal, it sets us off and gets the disappointment of last weekend out of the way and we’re off to a flyer.
"It probably hindered us and it seems mad to say that, but I just felt we were hanging onto that. We just thought one was enough and we challenged the lads at half time to keep probing, but I thought we were well below par in lots of departments in the second half, certainly when it came to the quality on the ball.
"We will be, and we must be better."
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