{"id":579705,"date":"2025-11-19T04:43:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T04:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/579705\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T04:43:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T04:43:32","slug":"accrington-stanley-managers-verdict-on-bristol-rovers-style-of-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/579705\/","title":{"rendered":"Accrington Stanley manager’s verdict on Bristol Rovers style of play"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Other teams would probably just put the ball in the box for seven minutes. I think they [Bristol Rovers] just carried on doing what they do”EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club\/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club\/league\/player publications.
\nMandatory Credit: Photo by Mark Kerton\/Shutterstock (15786041ds)
\nAccrington Stanley Manager John Doolan gives instruction to players
\nAccrington Stanley v Bristol Rovers, Sky Bet League Two, Football, Wham Stadium, Accrington, UK – 15 Nov 2025(Image: Mark Kerton\/Shutterstock )<\/p>\n

Accrington Stanley manager John Doolan was full of praise for his team\u2019s defending, as they held on for a 3-1 win against Bristol Rovers<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Kamil Conteh<\/a> cancelled out Isaac Heath\u2019s strike just before the hour mark, but goals from Farrend Rawson and Isaac Sinclair condemned the Gas to a sixth consecutive league defeat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After Sinclair\u2019s 77th-minute goal to make it 3-1, Rovers tried to reduce the deficit, with the closest they came in the 82nd minute when Ruel Sotiriou shot over from inside the box after an inviting cross from Luke Thomas on the left wing.<\/p>\n

Accrington held on for seven minutes of added time to move ahead of Darrell Clarke\u2019s<\/a> side in the table, and in the process, extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to five.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Bristol Rovers need to focus on \u2018development policy that will bring big rewards\u2019 to stop rapid decline<\/a>\"\"\/<\/p>\n

OPINION<\/p>\n

Speaking after the game to BBC Radio Lancashire<\/a>, Doolan said: \u201cYou come up against different tests. Other teams would probably just put the ball in the box for seven minutes. I think they [Bristol Rovers] just carried on doing what they do – their philosophy in terms of trying to pass it and trying to get it wide and maybe cross it then higher up the pitch, but we stood up to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe subs have come and had an impact – Joe Bauress, he\u2019s got qualities – you\u2019ve got Seamus Conneely coming on, Charlie Caton with what skillset he\u2019s got and he\u2019s good in the air, so I think to manage it and control it for [those] seven minutes was good for the lads.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Injuries to two physical attackers, Ellis Harrison and Promise Omochere, have led to a change in style in recent weeks<\/a>, with the Gas opting for a more patient, possession-based approach to suit the players available.<\/p>\n

In the last games against Gillingham, Plymouth Argyle and Accrington, the Gas have registered possession of 70 per cent, 76 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively.<\/p>\n

Ellis Harrison of Bristol Rovers and Fabrizio Cavegn of Bristol Rovers appeal for a penalty during the EFL League Two match between Accrington Stanley and Bristol Rovers at The Wham Stadium on 15 November 2025 in Accrington, England (Photo by Steve Taylor\/PPAUK)<\/p>\n

Rovers have only scored twice during this time, though, with a long-range Conteh strike and a mistake from Luca Ashby-Hammond, which gave the same midfielder a tap-in from a corner, the only times the Gas have breached the opposition defence.<\/p>\n

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With Harrison returning to the starting eleven against Accrington, it will be intriguing to see if Clarke reverts to a more direct style that was more commonly used in the early parts of the season.<\/p>\n

With a crunch game against Cheltenham Town to come on Saturday, Clarke will be hoping that he can find the answers to Rovers\u2019 attacking issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

OPINION<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Darrell Clarke declares Bristol Rovers \u2018soft\u2019 as they suffer sixth consecutive League Two defeat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“Other teams would probably just put the ball in the box for seven minutes. I think they [Bristol…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[192,381,2707,748,46615,393,82550,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-579705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-bristol","10":"tag-bristol-rovers-fc","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-darrell-clarke","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-football-league-2","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115574540474017265","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}