Matt Taylor expressed his disappointment following Bristol Rovers’ 4-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas had been solid at The Memorial Stadium this season, securing consecutive clean sheets in victories over Northampton Town and Cambridge United, but they struggled defensively in this match, conceding two goals in each half.
Joe Hugill scored twice, followed by goals from Thelo Aasgaard and Luke Chambers, sealing the win for Wigan and leaving Rovers unable to mount a comeback.
After the game, Taylor addressed several topics, including the team’s overall performance, their style of play, a mistake by goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, and the lessons they need to take from the defeat.
Matt Taylor reflected on Bristol Rovers’ 4-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic, acknowledging the tough loss after a promising start by both teams.
“We’re in a lot of pain,” Taylor admitted. “It was a relatively bright start from both sides, but set-pieces and counter-attacks went against us, and it completely derailed us.
“We saw a side to ourselves that we didn’t like—we lost our understanding of the game. Even after changing shape at half-time, we couldn’t connect as a team or gain any control in any unit or position on the pitch. Credit to Wigan, but we were far off the mark.”
Taylor emphasized the difficulty of the second half after conceding two more goals. “The biggest challenge in tough times is staying true to yourself,” he said. “We tried to regroup at half-time with a couple of changes, but the two goals made it a really painful second half.”
Despite the heavy loss, Taylor reflected on the team’s defensive strength earlier in the season. “Defensively, we’ve been relatively strong, having only conceded four goals up until today. But all of a sudden, it came crashing down. Set-pieces were a major weakness, and we didn’t respond well in key moments.”
Taylor also supported goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, who made an error during the match. “Josh is a quality goalkeeper, but he’s young and will learn from this. He’s been outstanding for us and has earned more than enough credit for us to move on from today. Sometimes, you have to go through a bit of pain to grow in your career.”
Matt Taylor emphasized the need for Bristol Rovers to adapt better when facing setbacks, following their 4-0 defeat to Wigan.
“You have to learn from it because we need a stronger plan for those early moments that went against us,” Taylor said. “When you’re behind at home, the pressure and expectations rise, and that pressure can affect players, especially younger ones.
“We might need a quicker or stronger default response and a better understanding of how to handle that. It’s my responsibility as the manager, but we also don’t want to abandon our playing style too quickly just because we concede a goal.
“We will fall behind in some home games this season, but what happened today can’t be repeated.”
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