Shots but no goals, Shaq Forde and Ruel Sotiriou not in the squad, and unwanted record looms – Bristol Live’s stand-out talking points after a seventh consecutive League Two defeat
Jonathan Tomkinson of Cheltenham Town celebrates scoring a goal to make it 1-0(Image: Will Cooper/Shutterstock)
Bristol Rovers were plunged further into a League Two relegation battle after losing 1-0 to Cheltenham Town at the EV Charger Points Stadium.
Despite the hosts only having one shot on target, Jonathan Tomkinson’s 70th minute strike was enough for the Robins to secure a first home win against the Gas since 2008.
Despite dominating large parts of the game and restricting Cheltenham to limited attacks, Rovers left the ground pointless again – extending their losing streak in the league to seven.
The result leaves Darrell Clarke’s side in 20th, which is only two points ahead of the relegation zone occupied by Harrogate Town.
Rovers have home league games against high-flying Notts County and Swindon to come in the next few weeks, so things could easily get worse before they get better.
With that said, here are the stand-out talking points from the 1-0 defeat against Steve Cotterill’s side.
READ MORE: Bristol Rovers a ‘real negative place’ after seventh successive league defeatREAD MORE: Bristol Rovers suffer seventh straight defeat in League TwoLots of shots and territory but no goals to show for it – A familiar story
The Gas had 17 shots at Cheltenham, with only three on target. Meanwhile, the hosts only registered four shots, with their effort on target finding the back of the net. Sound familiar?
Yesterday felt very similar to the game against Gillingham at The Memorial Stadium earlier this month, where Rovers dominated for long spells but were ultimately punished for not capitalising on their superiority.
Fabrizio Cavegn and Joel Cotterill came closest for the Gas, with the latter hitting the post in the second half with a deflected effort. Cavegn huffed and puffed and had a pair of half-chances in the first half, but he was unable to find a way past Joe Day.
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The goal was a poor one to concede, with Jordan Thomas’ delivery finding an unmarked Tomkinson at the backpost, who pulled away from Kamil Conteh and slotted home.
Joel Cotterill of Bristol Rovers and Josh Martin of Cheltenham Town challenge for the ball(Image: Will Cooper/Shutterstock)
Having more possession and more chances is all well and good, but Clarke acknowledged post-match that he needs to “keep smashing out that softness out of them,” because it isn’t taking much to score past this Rovers side at the moment.
Shaq Forde and Ruel Sotiriou omitted from squad
Shaq Forde and Ruel Sotiriou were part of last summer’s recruitment strategy to recruit young players with high potential. Their times at the club have been mixed so far, though, with both struggling to make a significant impact this season, especially.
The two players have started in recent games against Bromley and Gillingham, with Sotiriou also coming on for Bryant Bilongo at half-time during last week’s 3-1 defeat against Accrington Stanley.
They have been a part of Clarke’s plans in November, but were omitted from the squad against Cheltenham.
Ruel Sotiriou of Bristol Rovers during the EFL Sky Bet League two match between Bristol Rovers and Tranmere Rovers at the Memorial Stadium, Bristol on 18th Octbober 2025.(Image: Phil Mingo/PPAUK)
Speaking about Forde and Sotiriou not being selected, Clarke said: “No, not selected. Need more. Need more from the forward-thinking players. Need more from every single one of them. Need everybody to be training with the intensity that I demand. And if not, not in the squad. It’s simple.
“Quite simple with me, you know, for me is that I can only mollycoddle players so long, and I’m not chucking players on the bus. I’ll take accountability – I’ll do that, but what I won’t do is, I won’t mollycoddle players if they haven’t got the intensity right in our training, because the only way you get into form is by training right every single day, by body language, by attitude.
“And if they’re not, I don’t care who they are. They won’t be in the squad. Well, you know, we’ll reset Monday morning. There’ll be another 18 bodies picked next Saturday, and we’ll see who wants it.”
A shift to a 3-5-2 – did it work?
Given Conteh’s run of two goals in as many games, I predicted Clarke would opt for a midfield three of Cotterill, Chang and Conteh to match Cheltenham’s 4-3-3.
The 47-year-old persisted with three centre-backs, while Jack Sparkes came in as the left wing-back.
In all honesty, the system, which was a 3-5-2 in possession, looked solid, especially defensively. Scoring goals is still a big issue, though, and it begs the question: do Rovers really need three centre-backs when they’ve only scored twice in the last six games?
Clinton Mola of Bristol Rovers
(Image: Will Cooper/Shutterstock)
A lot of the chance creation against Cheltenham relied on two things – Ellis Harrison holding the ball up and bringing the likes of Cavegn and Cotterill into play or delivering dangerous crosses through the two wing-backs.
We saw the problem with this when Harrison was withdrawn in the 66th minute, as the lack of physical presence allowed Cheltenham to keep Cavegn quiet and limit Rovers’ attacking threat.
Freddie Issaka was the liveliest of the three second half subs, and similar to his cameo against Gillingham, showed his ability to drive at players and ask questions of defenders going towards their own goal, which is something that is severely missing in this squad.
He has certainly put his hat in the ring for a start against Notts County, but where he fits in a 3-5-2 is hard to figure out.
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Defeat against Notts County would equal unwanted record
Look away, Rovers fans. If the Gas lose against Notts County at The Mem next weekend, they will equal their all-time record for consecutive league losses, which is eight. This was achieved in the 2002/03 season under the management of Ray Graydon.
Rovers’ last two relegation seasons came in the 2020/21 and 2024/25 seasons, so where does this year’s points tally after 17 games rank in comparison to those two campaigns? In the 2020/21 season, the Gas had 19 points at this stage, while during the 2024/25 campaign, they had 21 points.
(Image: Will Cooper/Shutterstock)
Their points tally after 17 games this season is fewer, with only 17. With seven consecutive defeats and a team that aren’t scoring goals – it would be daft to dismiss the possibility of another relegation given the current run of form.
Whether the club stick with Clarke is something I discussed during the week and I hope that he is given the game against Notts County, as Rovers look to stop their worst run of consecutive league defeats in the club’s history.
OPINION
OPINION