ROVERS crashed to another defeat at the weekend, losing to Chesterfield in a five-goal thriller.

The game started promisingly for the Gas as defender Hartley opened the scoring in the third minute, showing instincts in the box that a striker would be proud of as he prodded the ball home.

We had plenty of possession after that but could not make it count. The Spireites took advantage and exposed some sloppy defending as Evatt equalised after 28 minutes and O’Shea gave the home side the lead on 37 minutes.

Going into half-time 2-1 down was a setback after taking the lead but we were confident we could produce another great comeback and get something out of the game.

We were faced with an uphill task when O’Shea scored a brilliant free kick for his second of the game to give Chesterfield a 3-1 lead.

Rovers battled hard to reduce the deficit and it was encouraging to see Bodin score his first of the season with a quarter of an hour to go.

His excellent volley reminded us of the skills he displayed last season and hopefully this will mark a return to form.

We could not manage another goal and defensive frailties had cost us more points as we slipped to 13th in the table.

We have now conceded 12 goals in the last four goals, picking up just a point in the process, and signing reinforcements will be the priority in January if we are unable to tighten up at the back.

As news filtered through after the game that Darrell Clarke’s grandmother had sadly passed away earlier that day, the result was put into perspective as football takes secondary importance following a tragic bereavement.

All Gasheads would like to send the manager our deepest condolences and best wishes.

Rovers have a break from league action now as non-league Barrow come to the Mem on Sunday (2pm) for a FA Cup Round Two clash.

The Pirates will be hoping to banish the memories of last year’s shock exit to Chesham and secure their place in the next round.