Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor rued missed early opportunities after seeing his side left hanging on for a point at the end against Crawley.
The Pirates were unable to capitalise on a good first-half showing and make it three wins in four at home in League One, despite hitting the woodwork twice in the opening 10 minutes at the Memorial Stadium.
Isaac Hutchinson crashed a shot against the crossbar from close range in the first few minutes before Luke McCormick’s header was tipped onto the bar by Crawley goalkeeper Connal Trueman shortly after.
Rovers also had other great chances to take the lead in the first half before Crawley regrouped after the break and penned the home side in for the final 10 minutes, albeit without finding a way past the Pirates rearguard as the match finished goalless.
“It was frustrating in two senses: first half, in relation to not putting the ball in the back of the net. And second half, we didn’t lose control of the game totally but we just seemed to be second best in terms of space and second-ball moments,” Taylor said.
“We looked the more leggy team as the game went on.”
Taylor defended his team’s finishing and said the chances fell to the right players in his side, one of which saw veteran forward Scott Sinclair, a second-half substitute, balloon a shot over the bar when clean through.
“Credit to Crawley for getting back in the game but the irony is that we still had the best chance of the second half. We stood strong defending our box and have now kept five clean sheets in 15 games,” he added.
Crawley remain in the bottom four after the draw but boss Rob Elliot voiced his hopes for his team following the game after seeing them show good resilience.
After a difficult first 45 minutes, the Red Devils ended the match as the stronger side and forced Rovers goalkeeper Josh Griffiths into several late saves as well as spurning other openings.
“It was frustrating to not come away with three points, because we should have done, but I think that performance showed me that we’re going to pick up more than three points [on the road],” said Elliot.
“Only one team was going to win it at the end.
“OK, they had a couple of breakaways, which is normal, especially when you’re such a heavy possession-based team and you’re throwing bodies forward. You have to be positive and have intent.
“The frustration will be if we don’t keep building on what we’ve done. We’ll keep doing the hard yards and get better and better.
“The work-rate from the lads was incredible. There’s work-rate as a professional footballer and there’s running beyond that, and the lads ran beyond that today.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
