ROVERS crashed to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at promotion rivals Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

It was a bad day at the office for the Gas and a rare occasion when our strikeforce failed to shine.

In recent weeks Gaffney or Taylor have stolen the headlines for their match winning exploits, or substitute appearances from Easter or Bodin have made the difference.

But none of our attack-minded players was firing on all cylinders at the Wham Stadium and the home side’s 69th minute goal proved to be the winner.

It was a freak goal as a cross into the box managed to evade everyone and went into the net.

Normally when you are not playing well you just need to ensure you don’t get beaten and at least pick up a valuable point, so it was disappointing to concede the goal in those circumstances.

The fact that Rovers managed just six shots all game, compared to Stanley’s 17, tells its own story.

It always looked a tough game as Accrington have been on a good run and no doubt are serious promotion contenders as the win has moved them to within two points of us.

However it is important to put it behind us quickly and return to winning ways.

The defeat left Rovers in fourth place but we are now looking over our shoulders as the chasing pack have games in hand on us, notably Portsmouth and Accrington.

It will be important to keep above the teams below them, such as Mansfield and Wycombe, to ensure we do not slip out of the play-off race.

It was good to see Liam Lawrence making his first start for Rovers as his experience and quality should prove to be an invaluable asset during the run-in.

The full strength of the squad will be tested over the coming weeks so it is important to maintain the competition for places.

Rovers face 10th-placed Wimbledon at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday and it will be vital to pick up three precious points to banish the memory of the Accrington defeat and boost our play-off challenge.