Even the most optimistic fans would have expected Bristol Rovers to exit the FA Cup when they came up against Premier League opposition in Ipswich Town on Sunday at Portman Road, even with the Tractor Boys making 10 changes from their most recent league outing at Fulham. However, the feeling amongst Gasheads still had a flatness to it once defeat was confirmed after their side barely threatened a punch.

Less than two years ago, the two clubs played out a goalless draw at the Mem in League One, with three of Ipswich’s starters that day starting on Sunday. Now, still under the management of Kieran McKenna, the Suffolk side have shown what’s possible with incredible back-to-back promotions to catapult themselves up the pyramid.

Ipswich’s story is remarkable and are a club that should be massively respected, but off the pitch. On it, supporters had every right to expect a bit more bravery from their team who looked as though they had accepted defeat as soon as the tie kicked off.

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The Tractor Boys completely dominated the first half, scoring three goals with Rovers’ only answer an effort on target after a near-catastrophic miscalculation from goalkeeper Arijanet Muric who passed straight to Ruel Sotiriou before saving the Gas forward’s strike with an outstretched foot. Rovers were already 3-0 down at that point though.

As impressive as the careers of some of the players kitted in blue have been, two of the three goals they scored certainly weren’t Premier League quality while a good finish from distance from Kalvin Phillips can also be nitpicked.

Alas, there was an improved response from the Gas in the second half but the tie was already decided. There is certainly an argument that they were lucky to make it to the third round in the first place but now focus can be entirely directed towards the remainder of the League One campaign and getting out of trouble.

With all that considered, here are some of the stand out talking points…

Too much respect

As highlighted above, the standout of a number of gripes from a Bristol Rovers perspective will be how much respect Ipswich were shown from the start. Yes, there are 45 league places between the two teams and yes, even after making 10 changes the likes of Ben Godfrey, Kalvin Phillips and Jack Clarke were in the starting line up. But even a League One side would be expected to have better use of the ball than the Gas had at Portman Road.

The statistics at half-time completely reflected the dominance the hosts were enjoying, with Kieran McKenna’s side not really having to shift out of first gear to create such a comfortable advantage. 74 per cent possession, 10 shots, to Rovers’ one, five corners to zero and well over double the amount of passes with 367 to 135.

There was an improvement from the Gas in the second period with more passes (197), shots (two) and possession (40 per cent) but with a woeful penalty and a number of wasted opportunities, Ipswich could have easily won even more comfortably.

Post-match, that was Inigo Calderon’s biggest frustration too, with the Rovers head coach saying: “I think the big thing was in the first half. I don't think we started well enough. I think we showed them too much respect. I don't think we were good defensively, especially when you want to try to defend high up the pitch, you have to do everything perfectly and when we had the ball, we couldn't keep it at all.

"So I think it was coming in the first 15 minutes. You could see that the goal was coming and we couldn't stop that and listen, there is the difference. That's why they play where they play and that's why we play where we play and we knew that we had to do everything perfectly to have a chance to win it and I don't think we did in the first half especially.

"It's true in the second half that I think we improved. I think we were improving during the game but as I say, I think that's the price when you play a different style of games. Last game we played Cambridge away, that was completely different to this game and we have to adapt and we have to learn during the game and that's not the best thing."

Inigo Calderon still having to talk about referees

Although the Bristol Rovers head coach hasn’t even been in the job for a month, Inigo Calderon has been forced to talk about officiating in every game he’s overseen despite his intentions not to.

The Spaniard has repeatedly said that he doesn’t want to make excuses and talk about the referees but in every single game he’s taken charge of so far there has been a controversial decision that has gone against his team and Sunday might have seen the worst of the lot.

With no VAR in the FA Cup until the fifth round, it would have likely been a welcome change for Ipswich to not have to deal with breaks in play caused by the technology which is one of the few burdens of making it to the promised land. They certainly would have been pleased with VAR’s absence because there is no way their third goal should have been allowed to stand.

Jack Taylor was offside by some distance when played through to score with the only argument in favour of the linesman’s decision that the goal was legal being that he thought the ball had flicked off of a Rovers player.

Add that goal to a questionable sending off for Jamie Lindsay at Stevenage, a clear red card for the opposition that wasn’t given against Leyton Orient and a perfectly legal second goal at Cambridge United that was disallowed.

Calderon also had a problem with the penalty decision for a Grant Ward handball, saying: “I said from the first day, I don't want to talk about the referees, but every day something is happening against us. Every single day and even the penalty for me, it was not a penalty and some free-kicks. I say to the fourth [official], I don't think they need help. I think they were much better than us.”

Romaine Sawyers makes immediate debut

Having been announced as Bristol Rovers’ first signing of the January transfer window on Wednesday, Romaine Sawyers was thrown straight into the starting line up for an extremely tricky first game in Gas colours.

The 33-year-old did well in parts and there was certainly an indication of what he could bring to this team with the midfielder mainly sitting deep but not shying away from roaming forward too.

Assuming that the intention is for Sawyers to be a regular starter, there will be one more central midfield spot up for grabs alongside him with Grant Ward, Jamie Lindsay and Kamil Conteh the main candidates in the battle for it. It’s just a question of when Conteh will be back available as the 22-year-old continues to nurse a mysterious knee injury that has meant the midfielder hasn’t yet been able to play under Inigo Calderon.

Asked how he assessed Sawyers’ debut, Calderon told Bristol Live: “I think it was important for us to have him in the team. Even just training two or three days, I think it’s a key player for us in the identity I want to bring to the team about controlling the game and understanding the game. Obviously it was too early for him but I’m quite happy with his performance.

“He's been playing in another division, another club, but it's not easy [in] the first days with a new club so I didn't want to force him,” the Rovers boss added when asked about the midfielder’s withdrawal in the 74th minute. “We don't want to force him because I think that was enough for him. I think he did what we wanted.”

Full focus on main objective

After seeing Weston-super-Mare miss some good late chances before Bristol Rovers secured victory in extra-time in the first round before clinging on for the best part of 120 minutes and winning on penalties after a Josh Griffiths masterclass at Barnsley, there is certainly argument that Rovers were slightly lucky to have made it this far in the FA Cup.

Ultimately, they were outclassed by much higher standard players and there is no shame in that. The only disappointment is just how straightforward the Gas made it for their hosts at times.

However, the main focus has always been the league campaign and now Rovers can fully direct their attention to climbing up the league table with a healthy 22 matches still left in the calendar.

Last season, the Gas’ campaign whimpered out considerably around this time when a replay defeat to Norwich City in the third round meant that they were snatched of the chance to go to Anfield to play Liverpool. They were already comfortable in League One and there had been hope that they would go on and push closer towards the top six under Matt Taylor. The complete opposite happened.

This time around, although their situation is still precarious being sat five points above the relegation zone, there is still a significant objective to fight for. Yes, it’s at the wrong end of the table but the FA Cup exit won’t knock the wind out of any sails like it did last year.

After nearly three weeks in charge, already there has been enough evidence from Inigo Calderon that he can steer this group comfortably clear of danger over the remaining months of the campaign.

Between now and March 4, Rovers are set to play Wigan Athletic, Northampton Town and Shrewsbury Town away while hosting Peterborough United, Burton Albion and Rotherham United as well as a couple of other matches against Barnsley, Charlton Athletic and Stockport County. By then, we should have a much clearer picture of which way the campaign is headed.

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