Bristol Rovers 2, Athletic 0: Wasteful Latics pay for first-half display

ATHLETIC captain Sean Gregan attempts to block an effort from Bristol Rovers striker Rickie Lambert.

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IT’S a well-worn footballing cliché that the way a team react to defeat tells you much about their character.

Athletic’s only previous loss this season was at Stockport. They bounced back with a 4-0 mauling of Hereford and a fine draw against Leicester City. And now they must do it all over again.

Last night’s game was a curious affair as Athletic were woeful for 45 minutes before turning on the attacking style in all departments bar one.

Unfortunately, you guessed it, that ‘one’ was a rather important little thing called putting the ball in the net, which they failed to achieve despite a catalogue of chances.

No complaints, though, as Bristol Rovers performed with passionate fervour and, unlike Athletic, seized on their opponents’ defensive lapses.

John Sheridan’s men will need to improve on this effort in order to keep pace at the top — they are down to fifth place after one win in six outings, with Bristol Rovers the first team to prevent them scoring — but it would be no shock whatsoever if Swindon felt the backlash on Saturday.

Sheridan fulfilled his promise to spring a surprise as winger Deane Smalley, who wasn’t even on the bench against Leicester, was recalled to the starting line-up.

Andy Liddell was nowhere to be seen in the 16, but on-loan striker Brett Ormerod made his full debut in place of Craig Davies.

In the first half, however, things went badly wrong as Athletic were indecisive at the back and ineffective in midfield, leading to serious problems at both ends.

They found themselves outnumbered in central areas as Bristol played relatively narrow, while home striker Rickie Lambert often dropped deep, took a defender with him and left gaps in behind for others to exploit.

Both goals were highly avoidable, although Lambert should take lots of credit for hitting his 11th goal of the season with a powerful long-distance strike.

Athletic came to terms with their mid-table hosts far, far better after the break, but any hope of a storming fightback was ruined by wasted openings.

Smalley and his fellow wide man, Chris Taylor, posed most of the threat, with Smalley’s positive running on his first league start this term a redeeming feature of the night.

Ormerod did well before he tired, but Athletic’s equation of weak defence and poor finishing was never going to equal victory.

Mark Crossley was the first ’keeper called into action as he plunged away to his left to palm out Lambert’s well-struck free-kick.

And the visitors’ failure to clear their lines in the 16th minute led to a spell of Rovers pressure which cost Athletic the opening goal.

Lambert received the ball 25 yards out and, eschewing the passing options around him, he showed the confidence of a man in red-hot form.

The striker took advantage of Athletic standing too far off him and launched a tracer-bullet of a shot inside Crossley’s far post.

Athletic twice went close to levelling as Taylor forced Steve Phillips to tip his effort over the bar before steering a half-volley off target.

But Rovers were sharper in the mind and quicker on the ball, and they doubled their lead when Lambert flicked on a corner and Chris Lines touched in from three yards.

It was a well-executed setpiece if you’d scored from it, a dreadful goal if you were on the receiving end, and Athletic’s possession late in the half didn’t yield chances to respond.

Having no doubt heard a, shall we say, polite few moments of advice from Sheridan, they went back out and made two clear openings, only for the frustration to really kick in.

The first chance should have been converted by Lee Hughes, but his close-range header from a corner was well saved by Phillips before the ball was somehow scrambled to safety.

Three minutes later Ormerod spun eight yards out, squeezed his shot beyond the ’keeper and was denied by Stuart Campbell’s goalline clearance — the omens didn’t look good.

Danny Jones was then wasteful from the edge of the box and Mark Allott grazed the post as Rovers began to creak.

Centre-half Craig Hinton nearly put through his own goal, but there was defiance from the home side as they charged down several more efforts before Phillips could even be troubled.

Though Bristol went close to killing off the game through Lines, Athletic missed a sitter when Reuben Hazell headed wide from four yards.

Only 10 minutes remained and Sheridan, with no other choice, went for broke by sending on Davies in a 3-3-4 formation.

It left them open, and Crossley had to thwart Lambert before tempers flared and both Sean Gregan and David Pipe were booked for squaring up.

Gregan’s part in the fracas was due to anger and disappointment — and, as a unit, Athletic now need to channel those emotions into the right response at Swindon.