Bristol Rovers verdict: Drought over as it rains goals for the Gas in excellent away display

After the doom and gloom of the past month with the run Bristol Rovers have been on, they managed to actually produce one of their most enjoyable outings of the entire season to put an end to the rut with a 3-1 victory away at Cheltenham Town, a score line that probably flatters the hosts.

Although the Robins were poor on the day, Rovers were equally excellent as they seemed to discover a groove that we haven't seen for too long. It was always going to return but the standout concern was whether we were going to see it back before the end of this season.

Goals from Scott Sinclair, Brandon Aguilera and Elkan Baggott made it an away day to remember for a sold out away end of Gasheads who had made the short trip up in the sunshine which also made its timely return as summer nears. In all honesty, it should have been even more comfortable for the Gas with Antony Evans seeing a penalty saved at the end of the first half while the clean sheet should've remained in tact before former Rovers man Liam Sercombe scored a consolation in the 94th minute.

However, a win is a win and it can't be underestimated how important that could prove to be for Matt Taylor. It's no secret that pressure was building on the Gas manager going into Saturday afternoon following the post-match boos of Tuesday's defeat to Reading and that should keep any major rumbles of discontent quiet for the remainder of the campaign.

Again, those who see the glass half empty will put more emphasis on Cheltenham's struggles as opposed to Rovers' excellence but hey, it's been too long since we last got to reflect on a win so we're very much in the 'Rovers' excellence' camp.

With that said, here are some of the stand out talking points from the Gas' 3-1 win at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium, or Whaddon Road if you also struggle to keep track of the latest changes in stadium sponsorship names.

Rossiter's return as jovial Jordan reminds Gasheads what he can do

All things considered, arguably the most pleasing aspect of Saturday was Jordan Rossiter's return to the football pitch, 16 months on from picking up a knee issue against MK Dons that proved to be the catalyst for an injury nightmare that lasted over a year. Whenever anyone has been asked about the midfielder this season, emphasis has always been made on the man he is first before the player and just how likeable of a character he is.

The point has been made previously that we don't want to assume too much having still not heard directly from Rossiter himself but Taylor has made the point in recent weeks that we should just be relieved that he's back playing football given the severity of his injury.

On the performance though, the 27-year-old was absolutely outstanding. There were elements of freedom to his game, similar to a kid on the playground, as though he was just delighted to be out there playing again. However, there was a grit to his game that Rovers have lacked from the middle of the park too often of late, going in for challenges, putting his body on the line and helping the teammates ahead of him get out.

Taylor did have to make the decision to throw in the towel though on 51 minutes after Rossiter needed a bit of medical attention but the midfielder made way by ferociously clapping at Kamil Conteh to get his replacement motivated for the fight, something that hasn't been seen enough. It was an excellent start to what will hopefully be a productive string of games to close out the campaign.

On Rossiter's return, the Rovers manager had some warm words, saying: "Infectious. Everything that you want as a manager in a player. Regardless of his performance and where he plays and what he stands for. We need more of them and more of him and it’s been such a shame that he’s been unavailable for so long for the club, not for me because I came in later. But you can probably see how this group and this team have missed him and I just hope that this is the start of him getting back to playing football again because he’s been too long out of the game.

"We tried to get him to half-time and then just said 10 more minutes and then there was another, well there were so many tackles in the middle of the park that he meant and won, and he just put his hand up. What a guy, like I said, what he stands for as much as what he is as a player.

"Let’s not have a discussion about the bigger part of the plans. Let’s just appreciate what today is. We know how long he’s been out for, let’s see how his body is Sunday, Monday and going into Tuesday and we’ve still got three games left so let’s get him as much game time as we possibly can.

"It’s not a token gesture to get him on the pitch when there’s nothing to play for. We needed him as a team today. The club needed him, I needed him. We needed some players in the middle of the park in certain positions to do a certain type of job which is why I selected him and there’s always a risk in that because we’ve not even been able to get him a reserve game. So for him to do that is fantastic but then we’ll just have to see how he fares over the next couple of days."

Baggott brilliant and you can't fully rule out that this is the end of his time at Bristol Rovers

On the topic of individual player praise, there also needs to be a word for Elkan Baggott who was magnificent at the back. We're all well aware of the difficult start the Ipswich Town loanee faced in his first couple of matches after joining on January deadline day but being withdrawn after 25 minutes at Stevenage seems a long time ago now.

However, it wasn't just Saturday. The centre-back had bright displays against Carlisle United, Leyton Orient and Fleetwood Town before the horror show Rovers produced in the 5-0 drubbing at Lincoln City. Obviously, the display against Cheltenham was notably his best in blue-and-white quarters but it's not like he hadn't been performing prior to that.

As Taylor said post-match on the Indonesia international, he did what was required of him. As a towering presence at the back, he won his headers and battled superbly with a defensive display that warranted a clean sheet. Of course, scoring a goal also helps but with his physical superiority, threat from set-pieces should be a more regular occurence.

What was interesting though, and this is a point to delve deeper into later, was the manager's point about previously not picking his own side as he added, "Kevin Bond is fantastic, he’s been around this club for a little while now, he just said to me pick your best team because the last few weeks I’ve tried to please everyone bar myself to be honest with you and it’s just been frustrating and we’ve not been affecting it and haven’t functioned as a team.

"So I put out what I felt was our best players for that game out there from the start probably knowing that some of them would flag. But all of a sudden we were ahead in the game and then you’re making changes to, look after personnel but just keep you solid instead of chasing the game which we’ve done so often over the last seven games."

If you were to assess all six loanees currently at the football club, you would certainly say that Rovers have the best chance of bringing Baggott back next season if any of the current crop were to return, be that on another loan or even a permanent deal. Given that the 21-year-old wasn't getting a look in in way of the league side for Ipswich in the Championship, the fact that Kieran McKenna's side could well be in the Premier League next term suggests that it will be even tougher for the centre-back to force a way into the side back at his parent club.

That's not a reactionary statement after an excellent performance because that's a handful of solid showings from Baggott now and no doubt there's exciting potential there. Certainly one to keep an eye on.

Another stand out point from Matt Taylor in a post-match interview

As referenced above, the comments from Taylor about not picking his own side were interesting to say the least. Very rarely is there not at least one stand out line from a post-match interview from the Rovers manager that demonstrates the level of honesty that you don't always get from managers. The 11 selected for Tuesday's defeat to Reading received major criticism as, in some cases, it suggested that lessons simply hadn't been learned, most notably by playing Jevani Brown as a lone striker.

Who or what has been telling him to play certain players is up for debate if that is the case but that squad, let alone the 11, seemed to tell a number of stories. In some cases, having players back from injury helped with the likes of Baggott, Hunt and Rossiter available for starts while Chris Martin returned after his little rest on Tuesday night which couldn't have done the striker any harm with the minutes he's been playing lately.

For the first time in a good while, it felt as though the inklings of a best possible team, or certainly close to it, was available for selection. Very rarely have Grant Ward, James Wilson and Hunt all been fit at the same time with the trio amongst the players who have fared the worst with injuries this term. Annoyingly, it now looks as though Ward and Wilson's seasons could well be over with hamstring issues picked up on Saturday and that ironically tells the story of the campaign.

For the past month or so, if not longer, we've discussed the players who deserve chances ahead of the inevitable rebuild over the summer. Obviously, a great deal are out of contract and that has evidently played a part in Taylor's selections over recent weeks but that seems to now be over.

Without naming names because it's all speculative but it wouldn't be a surprise if there are a couple of players there now who have already played their final games for the football club. Now, from Saturday's team and the final three line ups that will be named, we will probably start to get a clearer understanding of who Taylor is keen to keep on next term.

Timing of the first goal key as drought finally ends

We couldn't not point out the end of the goal drought could we? It's been a frustrating watch over the past month because, in the vast majority of matches, Rovers have created excellent chances which haven't been taken. Admittedly, some have come with games already seemingly decided following poor starts, such as Reading on Tuesday night, but the timing of some of the opportunities that have been squandered over the previous seven matches make you wonder how many points better off the Gas could be.

The timing of Sinclair's opener cannot go underestimated. A calm, composed finish in the 12th minute is exactly what Rovers needed after a bright start to settle them down. Had the winger missed that and further opportunities continued to be squandered then who knows how the game could have flipped but you would have expected Cheltenham to grow in confidence.

Even at 1-0, the hosts had a brilliant chance to equalise straight after the penalty save. Moments change matches and, thankfully, this time Taylor's men took theirs.

A much-needed milestone is finally reached

With the victory, Rovers have officially exceeded their points tally from last season with three matches to go. Admittedly, we all would have hoped to see that milestone reached a lot sooner but, alas, it has been now and that's a significant tick in the box.

The campaign is likely going to be reflected on as a disappointment and a bit of a missed opportunity despite its transitional nature but it would have been a calamity to not exceeded last term's tally of 53 points with the investment into the playing squad that was made last summer.

It won't be their best season in decades though with the 66 points achieved in 2016/17 to finish 10th can't be reached and the possibility of a top half finish has seemingly started to dwindle but the season has now officially been an improvement on last and progress is exactly what this club is striving for.

Admittedly, one point improvement is nowhere near the standards that are being set but it's not out of the question to foresee at least one more win with Cambridge United, Peterborough United and Wigan Athletic the final trio of opponents. Again, we will all reflect on the campaign with plenty of 'what if's' but at least there can be some sighs of relief after Saturday's win.