ROVERS showed they have a long way to go before they can become a force to be reckoned with next season after a meagre one point return from the Easter period.

Victory appeared to be within our grasp against Gillingham on Good Friday as we had showed character to recover from conceding a goal.

An excellent Eliot Richards header led the fightback, while our main creative threat, Muzzy Carayol, scored what we hoped would be the decisive goal.

Unfortunately our failure to close off games that we should be winning came back to haunt us as a long Gillingham punt forward was not dealt with by the defence and a header looped over Bevan.

It was a shame for the goalkeeper who had earlier impressed with a fine double save from a harshly-awarded penalty.

The officials’ failure to award Rovers a spot kick after Harrold was brought down in the area was also bizarre as it seemed a straightforward decision.

However, a draw was probably a fair result as the Pirates failed to find any great fluency and the first half in particular was disappointing. The arrival of Gill from the substitutes’ bench gave us much greater impetus from midfield and Richards also gave us more attacking threat after he replaced the ineffective Zebroski.

The 3-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Crewe on Easter Monday compounded Rovers’ misery and made any hopes of securing a finish in the top half of the table look unlikely now.

The absence of Paterson at left back was significant as he has been a reliable, experienced performer since his arrival at Rovers and it was a surprise that Sawyer was not chosen to revert to that position at Gresty Road.

The side was also missing injured playmaker Carayol and the result only emphasised the need for greater quality throughout the squad to cope when key performers are not available if we are to challenge next season.

McGhee will be hoping to see a positive response from the players against Burton at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday to ensure the final games finish on a high note.

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