Joey Barton misses Peterborough United defeat with Covid-19

Bristol Rovers fell to defeat against Peterborough United on Saturday.

Bristol Rovers confirmed prior to their trip to Peterborough that manager Joey Barton had not travelled after testing positive for Covid-19.

Andy Mangan and Kevin Bond took over managerial duties but were unable to kick off 2022 with a win.

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The Gas faced Posh in the FA Cup after knocking out Sutton United in the second round last month.

Sammie Szmodics opened the scoring for Peterborough but Paul Coutts gave the League Two side some hope when he equalised from the penalty spot only ten minutes later.

However, Peterborough’s second half pressure paid off on the hour mark when Bali Mumba scored on his debut and knocked Bristol Rovers’ out of the competition.

Following the loss, Mangan told BBC Radio Bristol: "I thought the lads put a real good shift in and I don't think there was much in it.

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“We had chances, we knew we were not going to have much of the ball at times today so we would have to be disciplined which I thought we were.

"At 1-1 we were massively in the game and even at 2-1 we had chances. I'm really proud of the lads. At times on the ball we were really good too.

"The gaffer was watching it and I know he feels the same way. I think you could see towards the end of the game that we haven't played a game in almost a month. On another day we could have nicked it."

The defeat comes after The Gas’ Covid outbreak meant they hadn’t played a league match since 11th December, with a number of players still absent.

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Barton will miss Rovers’ first league match of the year against Hartlepool United but will likely return to the dugout for their trip to Swindon Town the following week.

Victory against Hartlepool next weekend could see them overtake Graeme Lee’s side in the league table.

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