After weeks of hammering at the door, Bristol Rovers have finally crossed the threshold into League Two's top seven with victory over Colchester United. They are in possession of a play-off place, but with just two points the gap to the top three the Gas want more.
The final whistle was triggered McFadden & Whitehead's Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now and on current form, Rovers are right to feel unstoppable. They are League Two's best team in 2022, collecting more than half of their 60-point haul since the turn of the year.
Winning has become habitual in that time. Rovers have won nine of their 15 games in the calendar year to surge into promotion contention. They won just 10 in the whole of last season and just 11 in 2021.
This victory, though, was hard to come by. Colchester's low block was proving impenetrable as Rovers dominated possession without forging the clear-cut chances required. Anything they did create had passed through the feet of Elliot Anderson at one point or another, and it was the 19-year-old who appeared the likely source of a much-needed moment of magic.
He duly delivered four minutes after half time to delight an expectant crowd that is dreaming of what the weeks ahead could have in store.
The boy wonder
The number of young families coming to watch Rovers in recent weeks has certainly grown in line with the team’s epic run of form, and those who are getting their first taste of Rovers are witnessing something special.
Elliot Anderson should not be playing in League Two, but somehow he is and Rovers are the lucky beneficiaries. This is a match-winner at just 19 years old, capable of scoring the goal that kids want to recreate the next day in the school playground.
Anderson does have a knack for making it look like child’s play as he utilises his weightless feet and strong core to dance past one challenge before bulldozing through another.
He added another superb goal to a growing collection on Tuesday, producing a pinpoint bending strike into the top corner to break the deadlock on an evening when Rovers had struggled for flow in their attacking play against a deep-set defence.
Beyond the goal, there were more than a handful of moments where he drew gasps of amazement from the terraces. He had the beating of any defender one on one and doubling up did not work for Colchester either. Harrogate had the same trouble on Saturday and Anderson will be causing managers headaches over how to plan and prepare for a young firebrand in such dominant form.
A player destined for the big stage, Anderson will never play for Rovers again after May and anyone of a blue and white persuasion needs to get down to BS7 to see the boy wonder in the flesh.
Five Tuesdays tell a tale
Five weeks ago, Rovers headed to Oldham riding the wave confidence of a six-game unbeaten run in League Two but were soundly beaten by a team that remains in the relegation zone to this day. Leaving Boundary Park that night, it felt like the Gas had a long way to truly become promotion contenders.
Five Tuesday nights later, Rovers certainly earned that status. Sutton United, Leyton Orient, Barrow, Crawley Town and now Colchester United have been beaten under the lights across a period that has been the making of Joey Barton's side.
Playing Saturday, Tuesday has left little time for thought and planning. Talent has come to the fore and Rovers have an abundance of that in their ranks. Elliot Anderson, Harry Anderson, Aaron Collins, Antony Evans and many others have all turned up and delivered in this crucial period, gathering an enormous force of momentum to reel in their rivals for promotion places.
Rovers are not scheduled to play another Tuesday this season and Barton has mixed feelings. The relentless schedule of the past couple of months has been taxing but productive. Time on the training ground could allow for more wrinkles to be added to the gameplan, but the reliance on instinct and ability has led to a transformative phase in their season.
At the end of the campaign, should Rovers achieve their aims, the gruelling grind in January, February and March will be remembered as the making of the season.
Finley gets over the line
At full time, Barton listed the stars of his squad but reserved special praise for one man: Sam Finley, the player he labelled Rovers’ standout of the season.
Barton said: "He’s had to navigate being on nine bookings for a long period and I thought his level of professionalism and control to navigate that period was absolutely superb."
His importance to Rovers is difficult to overstate. Finley is so impactful in each phase of the game. He sets the tone of the press while pulling the strings in attack.
He is a manager’s dream, save for when an odd moment of ill discipline has let him down, but Finley has avoided a booking for xx straight games to ensure his availability for the manager in the run-in.
A 10th yellow card by the end of Tuesday’s game would have triggered a two-match ban that would have ruled him out for the vital games against Northampton Town and Carlisle United, but Finley has walked the tightrope perfectly. He has not sacrificed any of his tenacious qualities while also avoiding punishment from officials, delivering Rovers a huge boost for the next two games.
They have players who can take his place, but not one that can fill the void he would leave behind.
The hunter becomes the hunted
The road to the top seven for Rovers has been a long one. On New Year's Day, Rovers sat 17th in the fourth tier. Their promise was unfulfilled; some Gasheads believed they could do it, but not that they would do it.
Since that day, no League Two club has earned anywhere close to the 31 points the Gas have accrued, closing to within just two points of the top three.
That hunter's mentality of relentless pursuit of their goal has been the key to Rovers' surge into contention, coming up big in the biggest moments. There have been the late winners and heroic contributions of a team playing with a healthy dose of desperation in their game, harnessing that hunger in the best possible way while managing to remain poised and controlled.
Naturally, the fear now is that Rovers' mindset could shift, that the hunter becomes the hunted as those on the outside looking in at the promotion picture dig deep to regain their places in the top seven. But the condensed nature of the table should guard against any complacency because there is a much bigger yet attainable prize now within reach for Rovers.
Victory at Northampton Town on Saturday could lift Rovers into the top three, which feels strange to write while reflecting on the depths of the table that the Gas called home for so long until this inspired run of form. But they are here, and now they are here, here is not good enough.
The top three is in sight and Rovers' are on the charge. Their hunt does not end with a play-off berth, there are bigger fish to fry yet and they'll hope the words of McFadden and Whitehead are right.
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