The main talking points from Bristol Rovers' 2-1 defeat against Salford City

A defeat for Bristol Rovers against Salford City always felt likely, given the poor run of form the Gas have been on, coupled with the league leaders' star quality at this level following a summer of big spending.

The League Two pace-setters raced into a two-goal lead raced into a two-goal lead after 20 minutes. At one point, it looked like it could get ugly for the hosts at The Mem. Rovers responded with a much-improved second-half display, though, with Jack Sparkes scoring a free-kick after Ellis Harrison had missed a penalty.

Steve Evans' side couldn't find the leveller, meaning they have lost four games in a row in the league, with seven defeats in the last eight games in all competitions.

The mood has changed rapidly in BS7. After the 1-0 victory against Rotherham United on September 5, the Gas were two points clear at the top of the table after five games. Seven league matches later, and Rovers find themselves 16th, with a game that feels like must-win against Ian Holloway's Swindon Town on Saturday.

With that said, here are the main talking points from Rovers' 2-1 defeat against the Ammies...

Back three returns, with too much 'respect' in first 30 minutes

After shifting to a 4-3-3 against Shrewsbury Town with three defensively minded midfielders, Tuesday night's game saw Evans revert to a 3-4-1-2, with Alfie Kilgour coming into the back three. In the first 30 minutes, Salford's midfield rotations in their flexible 3-5-2 caused the hosts all sorts of problems, while Sparkes, in particular, had a torrid time against Luke Molyneux.

Peter Cklamovski's side raced into a two-goal lead, with Evans noting post-match, "Yeah, listen, I think there is no doubt a conversation at half-time reflected how we gave them too much respect as players."

In the 15 minutes before half-time, Rovers improved, pressing higher and utilising Ellis Harrison more effectively. This was on display in the 34th minute when a long ball forward was flicked on by the striker to Fabrizio Cavegn, who laid it to Shaq Forde inside the box, but the number seven's effort was straight at Will Norris.

Rovers' improvement continued after the break, with a significantly higher defensive line evident, as they kept the same shape. This led to a flurry of chances in the first 15 minutes of the half, with Harrison missing a penalty, moments before Sparkes halved the deficit.

The hosts' dominance in the second 45 continued, but despite their superiority, Rovers were unable to force the goalkeeper into a save of note.

Evans usually changes shape at half-time when things have gone badly wrong in the first 45, but last night was different.

Instead of tweaking the formation, Rovers pressed more aggressively and gave the league leaders less 'respect' with a higher defensive line. It worked, and it leaves the Pirates wondering what might have been if they had started the game like this.

Shaq Forde lacking confidence

I mentioned Forde's chance in the first-half in the opening section of this verdict, and it was one he probably would have buried in the second half of last season when he enjoyed an impressive run of form under the Scotsman. It just isn't clicking for the 22-year-old in the 2026/27 campaign, with zero goals and assists in 11 League Two starts since August.

He's been moved around to different positions, evidenced last night when he started as a number 10 in the 3-4-1-2 before moving to the front two when Reiss Russell-Denny was introduced. Forde has also played as a right winger at regular intervals this season, but wherever he's played, he's struggled to make a significant impact.

When asked by Bristol Live about the importance of Forde getting a goal in the coming weeks to boost his confidence, Evans said: "It's confidence, Will, isn't it? You know, Shaq Forde last season, when he had two or three goals, would have just clipped that into the far corner and start again 2-1 and they were on the back foot at that stage.

"Listen, you can go back and look at it, how that's not a penalty on Alfie Kilgour. Ellis Harrison the week before, the punch off the ball the week before, the penalty given against us on Saturday. The head of referees tells me he's trying to find me experienced officials.

"Just find me naïve officials, find me guys that have never seen Bristol Rovers and Evans before. Let's have new officials. Therefore, he's not to blame for why we lost tonight, that's for sure, but he should give us a penalty. And he should add nine and a half minutes, not five."

Yes, Rovers should have had a penalty in the first-half after Kilgour was cynically brought down and the referee somehow didn't spot it, but the first 30 minutes was lacklustre, and key players who were crucial in the second half of last season, including Forde, are not stepping up.

The good and the bad of Jack Sparkes

There is no doubt about it - Sparkes is better as a wing-back with a back three behind him, rather than playing on the left-hand side of a back four. He started in his favoured role against the Ammies and we saw the best and worst of the 26-year-old.

Luke Molyneux is far too good for this level, scoring eight goals and registering seven assists in League One last season, so defending against him was always going to be a tough task for Sparkes.

In the first 30 minutes, he had a torrid time dealing with the former Doncaster Rovers winger, which came to a head for the second goal when he breezed past the Rovers wing-back on the right flank before firing a low cross into the box, which was tucked home by Daniel Udoh.

With the hosts' improvement and a more aggressive defensive line in the second half, Sparkes was able to push further up the pitch, and he was unsurprisingly far more effective. He put some dangerous balls into the box and dealt with Molyneux far better than he did in the first 45.

Then came the free-kick where he struck it perfectly in the top right-hand corner. Sparkes' technical ability and eye for goal from set-pieces make him a far more dangerous full-back than Ben Purrington.

The main concerns regarding the former Exeter City defender, though, have always been his defending, and Tuesday night's game was the perfect encapsulation of what he does well and what he doesn't.

Is Swindon Town a must-win?

The manager was defiant when asked about Rovers' recent form, which has seen them lose seven out of the last eight in all competitions, saying, "Yeah, but let's not kid ourselves, two of them I played the reserve team at Wycombe and Chelsea.

"Let's not get carried away with stats. Ten consecutive defeats, getting beat fours and fives and could be tens and eights. So let's not put ourselves in that category."

Four straight league defeats do not make for pretty reading, though, and Saturday's West Country Derby against Swindon feels like a must-win game already. We're exactly a quarter of the way into the League Two season, so it's still too early to be panicking.

However, a fifth defeat on the spin at the weekend, with poor away performances continuing, and Rovers well in the bottom half of the fourth tier, would only add to the growing feeling of discontent in north Bristol.

Rovers are only two points behind the play-off positions and six behind Crewe Alexandra in the final automatic promotion place. On the other end of the perspective, they're only five points above the bottom two, with Northampton Town having two games in hand. It's an extremely tight division, and last night's defeat felt expected given Salford's financial muscle and favourites tag.

A win would go a long way to easing growing fears about the direction of this season, and as Evans noted post-match, "We need a win for everyone."