Bristol Rovers manager Inigo Calderon was a relieved man after savouring victory on home turf for the first time as the Gas pulled off a shock 3-1 win over in-form Barnsley at the Memorial Ground.
The former Brighton coach spoke out after goals from Oxford loanee Gatlin O’Donkor, Isaac Hutchinson and substitute Ruel Sotiriou proved enough to ease Rovers’ fight against relegation and dent the Tykes’ promotion ambitions.
O’Donkor and Hutchinson struck either side of half-time to put Rovers in command of the Sky Bet League One contest.
Barnsley defender Josh Earl rose highest to nod in Corey O’Keefe’s free-kick on 65 minutes to set up a tense finale before Sotiriou eased the pressure when he slotted home late on.
“I am very happy with the win but also I felt relief when the final whistle went,” Calderon said.
“It was great to be able to celebrate a victory with our fans because I know that winning at home is very special.
“Overall, I was very pleased with my players because they battled hard together against a very good Barnsley team.
“And I know that the way they played and the passion they showed for the shirt will strengthen the connection between the team and our supporters, which is a very good thing going forward.”
Rovers goalkeeper Josh Griffiths was the local hero as he kept the Tykes at bay with a string of excellent saves but Calderon refused to single anyone out for praise.
“I don’t like to talk about individuals because for me it was all about the team,” added the Spaniard, who has now masterminded back-to-back league wins following a 1-0 win over Cambridge a fortnight ago.
“All the team worked very hard for the cause and the substitutes also made a difference when they came on.
“It’s not a punishment when someone is on the bench but it is part of the game plan.
“And I am pleased that it has worked out and I can feel that the players are getting happier because it’s not easy when you are down near the bottom.
“I am relieved with victory because I will put smiles on the faces of my players and our fans.”
Barnsley’s former Rovers manager Darrell Clarke was at a loss to explain the surprise defeat.
“Some games have you massively scratching your head and this was one of them,” Clarke said.
“We were dominant for large stretches of the game although fair play to Rovers they did hit us on the counter-attack.
“But you can’t have as much possession as we had and not take the chances you’ve created.
“As a performance, it was exactly what I wanted to see from my team, going forward – we had 14 corners, 25 efforts on goal, 11 on target.
“We came to win the game and we will keep attacking the season like this because the lads are giving me everything.
“There was an individual error for the second goal and we just need to tidy up both boxes because this is a frustrating result.”
Clarke added: “We’ve had so many chances but their keeper has been unbelievable against us – like he was in our FA Cup tie at Oakwell before Christmas.
“I recognise people will say it’s a results business and sometimes I have to look at it and I know it will show we did a hell of a lot of things right in terms of possession and dominated a lot of the ball.
“But we have to be better on the turnover because they hit us on a couple of counters which we need to be better on moving forward.”|
