It has been nine days since Bristol Rovers’ 3-1 win over Peterborough United last time out but, as often the case, it certainly hasn’t been boring in BS7 in the build up to tonight’s home game against Stockport County.

Deadline day followed the Peterborough victory as the Gas endured arguably the most dramatic final 24 hours in the January window of any club in League One.

On top of the loan arrivals of defender Sil Swinkels and striker Michael Reindorf, Rovers had to face the major blow that was the recall of first choice goalkeeper and star player Josh Griffiths by parent club West Brom.

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The Baggies’ sale of Alex Palmer to Ipswich Town created a remarkable ripple effect that affected clubs from the Premier League down to the National League.

As a result of losing Griffiths, Rovers opted to recall academy product Jed Ward from his loan at Forest Green Rovers while also bringing in extra cover in the form of Myles Roberts on loan from Watford. There is still no clarity on who Inigo Calderon will pick to be his new number one, making it easily the biggest talking point in regards to team selection.

Elsewhere in the goalkeeping department, head of goalkeeping Scott Brown left the club last week with James Bittner arriving as goalkeeping coach from Barnsley.

It is understood that the Gas have continued working on the training pitch during their extended break while also being given some time to themselves. However, they will have to be ready for the next couple of weeks as they face a key run of fixtures.

Although Stockport are situated at the other end of the league table and have other ambitions, every home game will have to be seen as a decent opportunity for three points for the Gas. They are, however, hosting a side that come into the game on the back of five consecutive league victories.

Meanwhile, Rovers have won their last two in BS7 with the performance against Leyton Orient in a 3-2 defeat on New Year’s Day also offering cause for optimism.

Naturally, with the injury to Gatlin O’Donkor suffered against Peterborough and Griffiths’ recall, Inigo Calderon will be forced into at least two changes from that starting 11. He also has three new players who could make their debuts this evening.

Here’s how we think the Gas might set up, including a verdict on the ongoing goalkeeping debate…

Goalkeeper

Ah, how easy it was to start these pieces with the most obvious pick of the lot, stating the obvious that Josh Griffiths would start in goal.

The 23-year-old was outstanding for Bristol Rovers and will be a massive miss but there are two other young goalkeepers waiting for an opportunity and, numbers wise, Rovers actually ended the window with stronger depth in between the sticks as a result of the former loanee’s recall.

With no disrespect to Matt Hall, but the 21-year-old’s failure to get anywhere near a league appearance for the Gas during his almost two years at the club suggests that the debate for the number one shirt will be between Jed Ward and Myles Roberts.

Like Griffiths, Roberts is 23 but from an experience point of view, the two goalkeepers aren’t very comparable.

The Watford loanee made 21 appearances for Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle in the first half of the season, 19 of those coming in the league. However, his senior experience elsewhere has been in the English non-league, mainly with Welling United and Concord Rangers as well as spells at Tonbridge Angels and Wealdstone.

Meanwhile, although two years younger, Ward has played the best part of 50 senior league games in the past year, making 18 League One appearances for Rovers in the second half of last term before playing 28 games in the National League for Forest Green Rovers before his recall last week.

Additionally, the Gas academy product had also been a regular in the fifth tier for Wealdstone in the first half of last campaign while also playing in the National League South for Hungerford Town during an earlier loan spell. The goalkeeper can also be considered an England Under-20s international too.

There’s no denying that, for supporters at least, there will be some degree of emotion in picking Ward as their preferred choice to step in for Griffiths. A Rovers fan, an academy product and you can’t get much more local than Bradley Stoke. However, it would still be unfair to completely dismiss Roberts.

The 23-year-old has arrived on loan with strong reviews. Admittedly though, he’s not the Gas’ asset to develop whereas Ward is.

Realistically, Rovers will be keen to develop their academy graduate by handing him first team minutes where they can but their biggest, most immediate asset is their status as a League One football club and so Inigo Calderon, who is unlikely to have any sentiment affect his choice having come in at the back end of December, will pick the ‘keeper he believes can do the best job for the here and now.

The expectation for now is to see Ward come into the side but do not be surprised to see the shirt given to Roberts.

Defence

Unless there are any fitness concerns, there’s no real reason to make a change in the defence after a pretty solid showing last time out, admittedly against a woeful Peterborough side.

Sil Swinkels has arrived on loan from Aston Villa but, unless Calderon has seen something in training, you would expect that the Dutchman will have to wait patiently for his first start as a Rovers player.

James Wilson and Connor Taylor were both outstanding against Posh while the returning Jack Hunt rightly got raving reviews from fans after a superb display that made the fact that he’s been waiting in the wings for a couple of weeks since returning to fitness absurd.

Meanwhile, at left-back Lino Sousa is gradually improving and seemed to get more confident as the game went on against Peterborough. Clinton Mola will be waiting in the wings but that spot still seemingly belongs to the Villa loanee.

Midfield

Like the defence, there’s enough substance to argue that the midfield personnel doesn’t need changing unless enforced…or if Saturday’s game against Burton Albion is on the mind which is unlikely to be the case.

Matt Butcher will be forced to miss out next Tuesday when the Gas travel to his parent club Wycombe Wanderers so they will need to squeeze out every last bit of quality they can get from the January arrival who was impressive on debut last time out.

Again, the performance of the opposition could come into play when assessing individual performances but the midfielder clearly boasts that incredibly popular trait of making the hard stuff look straightforward.

Once he shook off a poor mistake that was unpunished, Grant Ward went on to also have an outstanding display against Peterborough and has rightly been earning his plaudits lately under the management of Calderon.

Ahead of the duo, Isaac Hutchinson and Ruel Sotiriou scored deserved goals against Posh with the latter producing easily his best performance in a Rovers shirt. Tenacious, disciplined off the ball and effective in the final third. Everything we want to see from the summer arrival on a consistent basis.

Hutchinson played in the middle with Sotiriou out on the left while Luke Thomas played out on the right. The winger can certainly play better than some of his recent displays but he is one of few players in this squad who can make something out of nothing.

Meanwhile, there’s no clarity on whether Shaq Forde will be back from a small issue that kept him out of the last game while Scott Sinclair is the only realistic option waiting in the wings.

Striker

With Gatlin O’Donkor set to miss out, as we nervously await news on the severity of his hamstring injury, it seems a pretty straightforward decision to give Chris Martin a start.

You would expect deadline day arrival Michael Reindorf to be utilised in some capacity tonight but off of the bench seems most likely. At 19 years of age and with limited first team experience, the Cardiff City loanee is going to be raw but can still certainly make an impact during his time in BS7.

Meanwhile, it may be completely shut down by Calderon if asked but, as things stand, Jevani Brown is still a Rovers player after a move for the forward wasn’t found following his return to the club from a loan spell at Notts County. Therefore, he is seemingly an option.

Again, it will be a question for the head coach but, with Brown working back at The Quarters, it cannot be ruled out that the 30-year-old may have the chance to make a surprising comeback in blue-and-white quarters at some point.

Bristol Rovers XI (4-2-3-1): Jed Ward; Jack Hunt, James Wilson, Connor Taylor, Lino Sousa; Matt Butcher, Grant Ward; Luke Thomas, Isaac Hutchinson, Ruel Sotiriou; Chris Martin

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