After a season of misery, Bristol Rovers supporters hoped their return for the first time in 479 days would coincide with better fortunes for their team.
But Nick Anderton, making his first appearance in the blue and white quarters since a move from Carlisle United, rolling the ball into his own net with goalkeeper Jed Ward in a different postcode was far from the ideal start to what Joey Barton hopes is the beggnning of a new era for the Gas.
Despite the inauspicious start, there was a first day of term feeling at the Oakfield Arena as Rovers faced Melksham Town in their first pre-season friendly of the summer. Both in that the team which started in Wiltshire was barely recognisable to the side defeated at Blackpool on the final say of last season, and that these are very early days in the gelling process of a squad tasked with securing an immediate return to League One.
That goal is a million miles away from here, but these are the days and nights where the foundations for success are laid and Barton's men – split into two teams – will be better for the 45 minutes in their legs ahead of much tougher tests to come.
Barton watched on calmly from his dugout throughout this 1-1 draw, with the intensity typical of a an early-July friendly for the most part as the Gas capped their opening week of preparation with a useful workout, but not the glut of goals many had hoped for. The more significant work was done at Bisham Abbey earlier in the week, with the Gas getting four days of hard running in under their belts.
The Gasheads, too, watched on subdued, a far cry from the raucous scenes at the Mem on March 10, 2020 as Rovers roared to a 2-0 win over Sunderland in the final game before the coronavirus outbreak.
Late on, as the Friday night Thatchers took hold, a rendition of Goodnight Irene did emanate from behind the goal, but for all the time spent waiting and suffering iFollow, this wasn't the real thing. That will come at Mansfield Town on August 7.
In the meantime, Barton and his players have plenty of work to do after a predictably disjointed performance in the circumstances.
They did start the game brightly with Aaron Collins, a new acquisition from Forest Green Rovers, heavily involved. He drilled a wicked volley straight at the goalkeeper.
Shortly after, the Welshman was at the heart of perhaps Rovers' best move of the night, with Ryan Jones – making his first appearance in a first-team squad since joining from Weston-super-Mare on deadline day in October last year – finding Collins in space. His smart movement created a pocket for Jonah Ayunga behind him and Lucas Tomlinson was played in on goal by the striker, only to be halted by the assistants flag.
There was a feeling of same old Rovers about the opening goal, with the Gas in complete control of the opening 20 minutes, only for Anderton to play a blind back-pass with Ward out of his goal. Mark Hughes' desperate challenge hooked the ball away, but only after it had crept over the line.
Rovers hit back immediately with two Welshmen linking, Luca Hoole poking a ball through for Collins – a former Rovers schoolboy who left the club as a 16-year-old – and the ex-Newport County striker marked his return to the Gas with a superb finish, flashing in at the near post with a mean strike from 12 yards.
An expectant crowd wanted more from the Gas, but they were unable to convert their chances before 10 substitutions were made at half time.
The second XI, which included Alfie Kilgour, Zain Westbrooke and Brandon Hanlan, was comfortable in defence but could not translate spells of pressure in to goals as their eighth-tier opponents earned a draw.
Barton, regardless, was content at full time, pleased with hundreds of miles the squad has accumulated together on the grass this week with the intensity set to go up a notch as the Gas return to The Quarters on Monday.
