Bristol Rovers' visit to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday resulted in a worrying beating for Ben Garner's Gas, but some players did enhance their reputation in defeat.
Others endured a very difficult afternoon at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Here are the winners and losers from the Pirates' squad following Saturday's 4-1 defeat.
Winners
Luke Leahy
The left-sided defender is the only player to score for the Gas in their three league games, and his second of the season was an absolute stunner.
The 27-year-old has rarely lacked attacking endeavour in his time with the Gas, but he will take a huge step forward in his game if he can keep chipping in with goals here and there throughout the campaign.
He will certainly have plenty of chances if he stays on penalties and presuming Rovers revert to Garner’s preferred 3-4-2-1 shape – in which he will be given more attacking responsibilities – for the games to come.
Brandon Hanlan
There is more to a striker’s game than scoring goals, particularly when you’re not being teed up with clear-cut chances, and Hanlan is proving to be superb at the dirty work.
Many of Rovers’ threatening attacks in the first half were the product of some muscular hold-up play on the halfway line, and he never stopped trying to make things happen even when the game was out of reach.
Questions over his finishing remain, but it is too early to judge on that front. What is certain is his speed, energy and physicality, which will be assets to Rovers.
Zain Walker
Coming on with your side 4-1 down is not the ideal time to be making your league debut, but it will regardless be a memorable afternoon for the 18-year-old having made his first appearance in League One at the Keepmoat Stadium.
He did his best to make something happen in attack and saw plenty of the ball in his brief cameo and there is much more to come from the exciting talent, who was promoted to the first-team this summer and already has signed a contract extension.
James Daly
The striker’s time with the Gas has been nothing short of miserable thus far, with injury, illness and a global pandemic preventing him from making an impression.
So it was pleasing to see him get a run in the starting XI on Saturday, and although it was undoubtedly a miserable experience, Daly did OK and deserves another crack in the team.
Jack Baldwin
Jack Baldwin has not played a single minute of League One football this season, but with the defence shipping goals while he is sat on the bench he might merit a go in the starting XI sooner rather than later.
Losers
Alfie Kilgour
The 22-year-old was given the tough task of shifting from centre-back to right-back, and he had a difficult afternoon.
It hasn’t been the easiest start to the season for Kilgour, but to be fair to him he is often the first to be shuffled around by his manager.
He has played both left and right centre-back roles in Garner’s back three and on the right side of a back four.
He showed versatility in those roles last season, but that was in a much different team which was less focused on playing out from defence.
A couple of below-par performances will not deter Garner and the club hierarchy above him from being confident Kilgour is the club’s future in the heart of defence, but – as he is still so young – he might benefit from a game or two out of the lineup, or from being given a sustained run in his preferred role as a right-sided centre-half.
Max Ehmer
The captain was not alone in having a tough time at the Keepmoat Stadium, and he was fully entitled to be furious with the referee for Doncaster’s crucial second goal.
The push in the back couldn’t have been more obvious and the goal should never have stood, but as captain of the team and the leader of the defence he shoulders some responsibility for Rovers’ meek demise in the second half.
He missed a good chance to equalise early in the second half too.
It’s still early days, though, and there is much better to come from the skipper.
Jayden Mitchell-Lawson
The 21-year-old, on loan for Derby County, had probably his most difficult game in a Rovers shirt thus far. Nothing quite went right for the winger and he was taken off in the second half.
Garner remains a huge fan, though, and Saturday's performance should do nothing to harm his long-term starting credentials.
Maybe a little stint out of the XI may not be the worst idea, though. It worked for him last season and the supremely-talented youngster returned a completely different player.
Josh Hare
When asked about Hare’s omission from the squad at Doncaster despite there being no fit right-backs in the squad, Garner explained he was being cautious with his return from a serious knee injury.
But the 26-year-old did play 90 minutes in the EFL Trophy last month, had a full pre-season and played in Rovers’ last two games before lockdown.
Garner is absolutely right to be cautious with Hare’s injury record, but the Gas could really have done with him on Saturday and it is strange he was available to play 90 minutes in the EFL Trophy but not considered for even the bench at Doncaster, particularly with Mark Little’s absence and the manager mentioning no recent flare-ups or injury concerns.
