Football Clarke promises he won't be derailed by one bad day at the office

RISTOL Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke has dubbed Saturday as a “shocking” day after his side fell to a heavy 4-0 defeat to MK Dons.

- Malachi OBREY

The Gas were not at the races on their return to the Memorial Stadium, conceding an early opening goal after just eight minutes in front of their home fans. Alex Gilbey's low ball into the box found its way into the net via a touch from Alfie Kilgour, a disappointing moment for the Pirates skipper after he was presented a framed shirt for his 100th game - the draw against Colchester United - prior to kickoff.

The Dons continued to have the better of the chances until just before halftime when Ellis Harrison met Jack Sparkes’ corner with his head, only to nod it down in the direction of Craig MacGillivray.

After starting with a back five, Rovers switched to a back four following the arrivals of Ruel Sotiriou and Joel Senior shortly after the break and made some inroads not long after the changes. A blazed Sotiriou effort preceded strong penalty shouts from around the ground as Harrison was seemingly tugged down by a Dons defender, preventing him from tapping the ball home.

A couple of blocked efforts from Kilgour and Kacper Lopata saw Clarke’s men show a bit of tenacity, however the Paul Warne’s men eventually doubled their lead in the 83rd minute through Laurence Maguire. The defender managed to just get a knick on a cross which took a flick off Sotiriou.

With the Gas going for it a little more with nothing much left to lose, the floodgates opened as Gilbey tucked home a third in the 90th minute before a quick break saw substitute Rushian Hepburn-Mur-phy put the final nail in the coffin in the third minute of stoppage time.

A dejected Clarke was visibly frustrated with his side’s performance. “It's a shocking day,” the 47-year-old admitted.