Joey Barton said he was “proud” of his Bristol Rovers players as they “stopped the bleeding” of a four-game losing streak with a 0-0 draw against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town at the Mem on Tuesday. .

Ipswich dominated possession and had 21 tries, but Rovers handled the game expertly to limit the Tractor Boys to very few clear chances, and the Gases came closest to a breakthrough when Scott Sinclair’s opportunistic effort from close range hit the angle of the post and crossbar. before being packaged.

Gas remain 14th in League One after picking up their first point since victory at Cambridge United on 7 January, but head into Saturday’s clash against Burton Albion buoyed by a commendable performance and result against Ipswich, fourth ranked.

“There were a lot of positives to take away from the game in terms of our defensive performance,” Barton said. “It was right, it’s what we’ve been looking for.

“I felt after the game on Saturday (the loss at Lincoln City), in the midst of that losing battle and the adversity of things going against us, I felt that some offshoots really started to emerge and seeing the character in those moments is key.

“Tonight, you’ve seen them grow even more. I thought there were some really good performances and it would be unfair of me to single out one individual because it was a true group and team effort. We haven’t won again, but I’ve managed to stop the bleeding. against a very good side.

“You can only be proud as the coach of the players. In adversity, to go into the stadium with what’s going on in terms of the results profile against a team that is chasing promotion and to stick to the game plan the way they did I’m very happy for the group and very happy for the football club”.

With senior players like Sam Finley and Paul Coutts unavailable, Barton has been working with a youth group in recent games, and he believes the last two games have gone a long way in developing Jarell Quansah, who won the man of the game award. sponsors. the prize of the party – Lamare Bogarde and others.

“For a guy today, they were superb, and that includes the guys that came into the game,” Barton added. “They kept following his instructions, supporting each other and I thought it was a very good performance, what you would call a proper team performance.

“In the midst of that, I think they saw some young men grow into men tonight and that will go a long way to establishing them in our football club and we’ve given them what they’ve come for, which is a foundation to build on.” a fantastic race.”

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