Steve Evans hails importance of integrity after Bristol Rovers win at Harrogate

Steve Evans insisted his Bristol Rovers team won’t hand out any favours to Sky League Two’s relegation strugglers despite a run of five straight wins steering the Memorial Stadium club into mid-table safety.

A brace from sub Ellis Harrison, following Shaq Forde’s second-half reply, saw Rovers equal their best run of consecutive victories since March 2016 with a 3-2 triumph at bottom-of-the-table Harrogate.

The hosts had led twice – courtesy of another double-strike from Ellis Taylor – but were ultimately denied the point that would have seen them climb out of the relegation zone for the first time since December.

Evans’ side will now play a couple more of Harrogate’s relegation rivals in their next two fixtures and the 63-year-old Scotsman has promised there will be no slip in his side’s standards.

That even applies to Crawley – the club he helped gain EFL status 15 years ago – when they travel to Rovers on Saturday.

Evans said: “Football’s about winning and I was really disappointed at half-time because I wanted to come to Harrogate with the greatest of integrity, as there are four or five teams trying to beat the drop into the National League.

“But it looked like we were going through the motions, even though it was a brilliant finish that put them in front.

“We made changes for the second half and, whereas there was very little in it during the first half, we were totally dominant after the break and deserved the win.

“We also left with our integrity high and with every other club knowing that we’ll do our level best in all our remaining fixtures.

“I gave Crawley five wonderful years of my life, but it will be no different when they come to the Mem on Saturday or when we go to Tranmere the following weekend.”

Harrogate travel to third-bottom Newport next in a huge fixture, with manager Simon Weaver confident his team will continue to fight for their lives, despite being frustrated by the “soft goals” conceded in this contest.

He said: “We played well and went in at half-time full of confidence after Ellis’ brilliant strike. In the second half, we started brightly, but went on to concede a soft goal.

“Then, we bounced back in style through Ellis again, but another two soft goals have cost us the game.

“They’ve got a good squad with a lot of pedigree from higher league football, but I don’t think they have beaten us because of spells of concerted pressure.

“We lost because we didn’t deal with two crosses for their second and third goals.

“We’ll still be driving home the positives from this performance, though, and I know the lads will continue to show camaraderie and never give in until the final whistle of the final game.

“We’ve become a strong unit since the transfer window and have players who are aspirational and want to stay at this level with a belief that they can win every game.”