"Massive problem" - Bristol Rovers issue revealed after Wycombe, Rotherham examples | OneFootball

The Gas have struggled all season in defensive areas, and it could cost them dear over the coming months.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol Rovers are a club teetering on the edge right now, with The Gas sitting three points above the League One drop zone with 12 games remaining in the season.

Inigo Calderon’s side are on a run of just two wins in their last nine league games, which has seen them slip closer and closer to the bottom four of the division and set up a nervy remaining two months of the campaign.

An inability to keep the ball out the back of the net has cost Rovers dear time and time again this season, with a stalemate against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night marking just an eighth clean sheet of the season, and their first since the first weekend of 2025.

It is an unreliability from dead-ball situations that seems to be Ziggy Carter’s main issue with his club right now, after we asked Football League World’s Rovers fan pundit: 'What is your club's biggest issue at this very moment in time and why?'

Bristol Rovers set-piece issue highlighted as League One relegation battle continues

Rovers have conceded 53 goals in League One this season, with only four sides in the third tier having a more porous backline than the side from the Memorial Ground.

But no side can match Rovers for their weakness when it comes to conceding from set-pieces though, with 20 of the goals that have been scored against them coming from such situations, with teams exploiting that method on a regular basis.With a defensive unit that is incapable of thwarting the opposition, a relegation battle has proven inevitable for the past few months, with Calderon unable to stop the slump after replacing the departed Matt Taylor.

Such is the prominence of the issue, Carter could think of nothing else when asked what his side’s biggest issue is, saying: “There might be slight recency bias here, but the club’s biggest issue right now is set-piece defending.

“At the start of the season it was a big problem. We conceded a last-minute goal to Wycombe from a set-piece, and we clearly struggle with them.

“It got to the point when as soon as a corner was given away, the fanbase expected a goal to be conceded. However, we improved a little bit. But most recently, against Rotherham, we conceded two very poor set-piece goals.

“Obviously, Rotherham are a very direct team - especially with Steve Evans at the wheel - but we could have done so much more against the set-pieces.

“It has been a massive problem all season, and we have improved slightly, but it has become clear that there is still a long, long way to go, because the way we defend set-pieces is absolutely unacceptable at the moment.”

Bristol Rovers set-piece issue could result in relegation

With the defence often at sixes and sevens when the ball is played into their penalty area, Rovers are doing themselves no favours in their battle to stave off relegation to League Two this season.

While they managed to fend off the bombardment from a Gareth Ainsworth-coached Shrewsbury in midweek, there will be plenty more sides aiming to exploit that weakness in the coming months, with points becoming as crucial as ever near the bottom of the division.

While Carter rightly points out the Rotherham result as another example of his side’s Achilles heel this season, there have been plenty of times he could have chosen from, with points regularly being surrendered due to a lack of organisation at the back.

Having taken the lead at Northampton the week before through Scott Sinclair, the Cobblers were allowed back into the contest when Dara Costelloe got his head into a ball into the penalty area, with Calderon’s side once again switching off from the second phase of a set-piece.

This is a team that isn’t learning from an issue that has plagued them all season, and despite having natural leaders at the back like James Wilson, the dead-ball flaw could be fatal if things continue how they are.