There have been some thrilling second-half comebacks at the Mem of late, but James Connolly does not want Bristol Rovers to keep getting in that position.
Rovers fell behind against both Plymouth Argyle and Fleetwood Town in their past two home league games before roaring back in the second half, drawing two games that they ought to have won on the balance of play. The crowd has played a big role in both of those performances after half-time, with both Plymouth and Fleetwood suffering amid a raucous atmosphere.
But while Connolly believes Gasheads' vocal support is a huge asset, the centre-back believes they cannot keep relying on mustering a response after going a goal or two down – he believes the Gas need to do more work from out in front.
The Gas have fallen behind in 12 of their 18 league games so far this season and they have come back to draw five of those games without winning one and Connolly says the team are giving themselves too much work to do.
"At the Mem going towards that Thatchers End, it’s easy for me to say now but it makes such a difference," Connolly said. "You’re shooting up the hill but it’s like they suck the ball in for you.
"But to be honest, we don’t want to get in that position. We don’t want to be trailing in games, we want to be 1-0 up if we can and kick on again. But going behind does happen and it’s good to be able to bounce back.
"We’ve given teams the first goal a few times through us trying to get the first goal. I think any team that concedes the first goal a few times would be saying ‘Come on, lads, we need to score first’. It’s easier if you score the first goal and more so in the first half."
Rovers dominated Fleetwood in the second half on Saturday but they shipped a 99th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 and let a couple of points slip from their grasp.
Connolly came on as a half-time substitute, with Barton's decision to drop him to the bench influenced by load management and tactical factors. The 21-year-old is only recently back in action after a two-month absence with a back injury.
Rovers have typically managed the end of games since they found their form midway through last season en route to promotion, and former Cardiff City defender Connolly admits the Gas, who have conceded 33 goals in 18 League One games, need to sharpen up at the back.
"I don’t think it was like us and I don’t think that second-half performance deserved that late equaliser from them, but we just need to keep looking forward and work on it," he added. "We need to stay a bit tighter and it was a set piece, so if we sharpen up on stuff like that we’ll be OK.
"The message from the manager has been to carry on from where we left off in the second half against Fleetwood. I think everyone can see that was a good performance, so we need to stay confident, keep playing the way we were and I think we’ll be OK."
After impressing in the second half against Fleetwood, Connolly is likely to start for the Gas against Peterborough United on Saturday, when he will be tasked with containing former Gas striker – and the top scorer in the division – Jonson Clarke-Harris. Connolly said he is up for the challenge.
"He did well here and he’s a good player, and I look forward to playing against the best players," he added. "We’re just focused on ourselves. Every game, we do loads of work outside, so whoever we come up against, it’s about ourselves and not the opposition.
"We always look at what we can improve on. We want to keep more clean sheets and score more goals. We look at all aspects of our game and we just want to improve.
"You just want to win every game and every game is different, I've never played the same game twice. If you're quiet and you win, you're happy, if it's a busy game and you win you're also happy, so I'll take it as it comes."
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