Steve Evans hails ‘touch of magic’ brought by Yusuf Akhamrich

Two-goal Tottenham loanee Yusuf Akhamrich was hailed for bringing “a touch of magic” to Bristol Rovers’ fight against relegation after he inspired a vital 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Newport at The Memorial Stadium.

Akhamrich was the hero as he marked his home debut with a classy first-half brace that put Rovers on course for a first home win since September before Fabrizio Cavegn struck late on.

Rovers manager Steve Evans, celebrating only a second win in nine since succeeding Darrell Clarke, singled the 20-year-old out for praise.

“Yusuf showed everyone that there’s no doubt he’s a very special talent and he’s brought a touch of magic to our side as our number 10,” Evans said.

“He’s not the finished article and although he’s incredibly fit he needs to get even fitter to cope with first-team football.

“But as I said to him at half-time there’s no point having magic if you don’t work hard and if you look at the best who resemble Yusuf and have that special ability.

“He tired a bit after the break but the first half demonstrated that in the future this kid has got a chance of playing in the Premier League.

“His second goal, where he just pulled a 70-yard ball right out of the air is something you see top Premier League players do.

“I’m not saying he will be the best player in the world but what I am saying is that we have to get the other part of his game right because he has to be doing it a lot longer than 50 minutes.”

After a run of eight league home defeats in a row was ended, Evans added: “That first home win in ages should really help raise our confidence levels.

“I enjoyed everything about today. They were both stunning, spectacular goals and we pulled Newport apart in the first half which was probably the best we’ve seen for two years. We went into protective mode afterwards.”

Newport manager Christian Fuchs has urged the Exiles to stick together.

Fuchs said: “We have to all hold our own hands up and say we messed up there and not we still have a good amount of games together.

“And I am appealing for the players to stick together because otherwise if we start pointing fingers at each other and we split up the reality is that the season will be done.

“That’s the reality but the boys are really honest and they realise what needs to be done and they are taking responsibility for their actions.

“I think the players were all pulling in the same direction but simple mistakes are proving very costly for us at the moment, particularly in the first half.”