ROVERS remain adrift of Conference leaders Barnet as they squandered two crucial points on Saturday.

It was vital to return from lowly Dartford with a win to keep up the pressure on the league leaders but a disappointing 2-2 draw was the outcome.

The Gas suffered a difficult opening as new signing Jermaine Easter was forced to leave the action after just eight minutes with a knee injury.

We can only hope that scans show it is not too serious and he will be back playing sooner rather than later to bolster our strikeforce.

However the attack could not be criticised as we should be winning games when we score two goals away from home.

Twice we were in the lead but general sloppiness and a lack of a winning mentality allowed Dartford back into the contest on each occasion.

Matty Taylor put the Pirates in front on 28 minutes, but the lead was short-lived as Dartford equalised soon after. Despite Rovers dominating large spells of possession it seemed the game was drifting towards a draw, until Ellis Harrison scored with just over 10 minutes remaining.

A side with sights on the top place and automatic promotion should have seen the game out at this stage but Dartford equalised again just a couple of minutes later, to the collective groans of the travelling support.

Our opponents had lost their previous five games and are languishing in the relegation places, so the result was a massive disappointment.

The loss of inspirational midfielder Stuart Sinclair through injury is another blow at the moment. He is a huge loss but it is up to his teammates to show leadership qualities by grabbing games by the scruff of the neck and ensuring draws are turned into wins.

Ollie Clarke’s injury is also leaving us short in midfield at the moment but the manager moved to fill that gap in the transfer market this week by signing Josh Wakefield on loan from Bournemouth.

It is essential to put Saturday’s disappointment behind us and beat Lincoln City on Saturday as Rovers return to action at the Memorial Stadium.