Joey Barton hails all-round game of Bristol Rovers ‘talisman’ Aaron Collins

Posted Sunday, October 16, 2022 by PA

Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton praised Aaron Collins for his attitude and quality after the in-form front man netted a brace in a 4-1 win at Cheltenham.

Collins struck twice in the first half to take his tally for the season to eight and he also set one up for Antony Evans as the Pirates ran riot at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium to lead 4-0 at the break.

Liam Sercombe pulled one back from the penalty spot in the second half, but Rovers cruised to third successive League One triumph to move up to 11th.

“Aaron is maintaining good consistency with his level of performance and adding goals and assists now, which will make everyone sit up and take notice,” Barton said.

“But it’s the shift and the workrate for the team. He is very much a team player and obviously he’s our talisman at the minute.

“It’s a young team in its maturation stage and we’ve had a little bit of a shot of confidence from recent results and performances.

“We were so dominant first period and we still have gears to go. We can certainly play a lot better than that. There were lots of good performances and steps in the right direction for our team.”

An enjoyable afternoon for the 1,430 travelling fans was sparked by Collins opening the scoring after 15 minutes, capitalising on miscommunication between Robins goalkeeper Luke Southwood and Ryan Jackson and finishing into an empty net.

Evans added the second, heading in Collins’ cross after a slick move also involving Sam Finley in the 23rd minute.

Rovers’ third was from Paul Coutts’ corner on the left, which was nodded in by Bobby Thomas in the 42nd minute.

Collins made it 4-0 in first-half stoppage time, latching onto a clearance from goalkeeper James Belshaw, rounding Southwood and slotting in.

Cheltenham pulled one back in the 54th minute from the penalty spot, with ex-Rovers midfielder Liam Sercombe converting after a foul on Jackson by Finley in the box.

Belshaw saved well from Ryan Broom in the 63rd minute, but a comeback never looked likely.

Cheltenham head coach Wade Elliott admitted his side lost their way in the first half, but he did feel they salvaged some pride after the break.

“We were architects of our own downfall, ultimately,” Elliott said.

“We gave away cheap goals and at 2-0 down, we got a little bit frazzled and compounded it by making some bad errors in a 10-15 minute spell, letting the game get away from us.

“Our fans stuck with us in fairness because I think we have been in credit with some of our recent home results and hopefully the second half was a better representation of the group and what we are about.”