"A shocking day" - Darrell Clarke reacts to poor afternoon as Bristol Rovers downed by Dons

Bristol Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke(Image: Kieran McManus/EFL)

Bristol Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke has dubbed Saturday as a “shocking” day after his side fell to a heavy 4-0 defeat to MK Dons.

The Gas were not at the races on their return to the Memorial Stadium, conceding an early opening goal after just eight minutes in front of their home fans. Alex Gilbey’s low ball into the box found its way into the net via a touch from Alfie Kilgour, a disappointing moment for the Pirates skipper after he was presented a framed shirt for his 100th game (the draw against Colchester United) prior to kick-off.

The Dons continued to have the better of the chances until just before half time when Ellis Harrison met Jack Sparkes’ corner with his head, only to nod it down in the direction of Craig MacGillivray.

After starting with a back five, Rovers switched to a back four following the arrivals of Ruel Sotiriou and Joel Senior shortly after the break and made some inroads not long after the changes. A blazed Sotiriou effort preceded strong penalty shouts from around the ground as Harrison was seemingly tugged down by a Dons defender, preventing him from tapping the ball home.

A couple of blocked efforts from Kilgour and Kacper Lopata saw Clarke’s men show a bit of tenacity, however the Paul Warne’s men eventually doubled their lead in the 83rd minute through Laurence Maguire. The defender managed to just get a knick on a cross which took a flick off Sotiriou.

With the Gas going for it a little more with nothing much left to lose, the floodgates opened as Gibley tucked home a third in the 90th minute before a quick break saw substitute Rushian Hepburn-Murphy put the final nail in the coffin in the third minute of stoppage time.

A dejected Clarke was visibly frustrated with his side’s performance on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a shocking day,” the 47-year-old admittted.

“It’s a shocking day for us. Some of the goals we gave away were very, very poor. A couple of own goals in there and then a couple of silly decisions at the back end of the game. I think that it’s key that when we’ve had such a disappointing afternoon that we get back on the grass as quickly as we possibly can to make sure we put those things right.

“Words are pretty cheap after a performance like that. I just thought we were miles off it, with and without the ball. I need to look into that to see why that was the case, but I also don’t want that to derail what’s been a good base so far. But also, I’ve been saying it week in, week out, there’s a lot of work to be done with the group and that will continue to be in flow. And sometimes you get a day like this where you’ve got to take your medicine, you’ve got to regroup, but I also will make sure that we get that right reaction for next week.”

After a strong run of eight games undefeated, the Gas have now suffered defeat in back-to-back League Two fixtures, a habit that will not want to be continued by Clarke and his men.

Today’s display saw some poor goals conceded; two from set pieces, one from a cross, and the other from a fast break right at the end of proceedings.

“Listen, they’re shocking goals,” Clarke lamented.

“They’re just goals where, when you’re playing a decent team like MK Dons with good players, you’re going to get punished. So, we didn’t give ourselves a platform, we concede early, and it got worse from there, if I’m honest. We never got a foothold in the game. We huffed and puffed a little bit in the second half and first half but not really the quality levels that we needed to unlock them.

“The last two goals typified our defending, well, the last three goals to be honest with you, typifies our defending. In set piece situations today we were really, really poor. Never got a foothold in the game. Never brought our patterns into play.

“Shocking, shocking afternoon for us but it’s important – I know this club very, very well – and it’s important that we react. And the only way you react is next Saturday at three. But, for me and my staff, it’s about getting the boys ready, regrouped again, Monday on the training pitch because I won’t let it derail us. It’s a project that we’ve been very disappointed in, but it won’t, we’ll make sure that next week we’re back at it in front of our own fans and get that belief back.”

The Harrison penalty shout was a big moment in the game. At one nil, a potential gift for Rovers could have turned the tide in Saturday’s match with momentum possibly being tipped in the Pirates’ favour.

“I think you can see, we all see, and the fans can see that he’s got a hold of his shirt, he’s pulling him back otherwise he gets a tap in,” the Rovers boss told the media after the game.

“But listen, we didn’t get that decision, but we didn’t lose the game on that decision if I’m honest. We lost the game today because we were nowhere near good enough with and without the ball. You give cheap goals away, you get punished. It’s as simple as that.”

12 games into the season, it has truly been a mixed bag of results for the Gas. Five wins and five losses with a couple of draws making up the numbers, Clarke’s side has seen their form dictated by spells. It took three defeats to open the season before they found their groove, with the last two games bringing the team back down to Earth after a strong run.

The summer window saw 14 additions arrive in BS7, but there is clearly still more change to come after Clarke’s first summer and pre season in charge.

“I reinstate how much work we’ve got to do with the group. I said early in the summer, it’s going to take three windows to get what I think I want it to be like. Until then, players are going to be getting those opportunities to show me that they can be part of the group moving forward. It’s been a solid base without being spectacular. Disappointing day today. We have to regroup now and go again next week.”

“A shocking day” – Darrell Clarke reacts to poor afternoon as Bristol Rovers downed by Dons

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