Joey Barton delighted to see fans flock in to see Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton was “proud of everyone at the football club” after a 1-1 draw with Exeter in front of a sell-out crowd of just under 10,000 at the Memorial Stadium.

Despite seeing Luca Hoole’s first Rovers goal, a close-range shot from a 10th-minute corner, cancelled out by Jevani Brown’s well-struck drive 14 minutes later, Barton was in high spirits after the game.

He said: “While the players were warming up, I turned the lights and the TV off in my office and sat there in darkness listening from the belly of the beast to the fans singing outside.

“I took a moment to be proud of everyone at the football club, who has worked so hard to bring about a full house because it has been a long slog.

“It wasn’t our best performance or result, but in 15 years’ time when others have forgotten the game, I will still remember it for what it meant in terms of our progress.

“The Gas are coming. We will play better over the rest of the season, but I am so grateful for the volume of support and the positivity it provided.

“They had a chance near the end where I was expecting our net to bulge, but the ball didn’t go in and I believe the positivity among our fans played a part in that.

“If there is negativity around the place, you tend to concede late goals. Now we are expecting to win games and little things like that go your way.

“I’m delighted for Luca Hoole that he scored his first goal. I’ve only just found out that he felt ill yesterday, but didn’t want to tell me because he was so desperate to keep his place in the side.

“Thankfully for him, he played really well. If he had had a shocker, I wouldn’t have been too pleased!”

Manager Matt Taylor had no complaints after his side moved two points off the League Two automatic-promotion places.

“It was probably a fair result and I am happy with a draw from a really tough game,” he said.

“It was a great advert for League Two and all credit to Bristol Rovers for the way they put us under pressure and threatened our area, if not always our goal.

“We showed resilience when we needed to, but not quite enough quality. Even so, we had the better chances as the game wore on.

“It was a sloppy moment from us to concede early. We have to defend our near post better and the ball sneaked in.

“We didn’t panic and a real quality moment from Jevani Brown has got us back in the game.

“From then on it was two teams going hard at it. We couldn’t produce the flowing football we like, but we did get stronger as the game progressed.

“If both teams continue to play like that, neither of us will be far away from where it matters come the end of the season.”