Ward praises fighting spirit

John Ward felt Bristol Rovers showed a lot of fight after they twice came from behind at Aldershot to earn a 2-2 draw.

David Clarkson, from the spot, and Eliot Richards, with a deflected effort in the 87th minute, grabbed Rovers' goals to cancel out Michael Hector's first-half strike and Craig Reid's penalty 14 minutes from time. And while the Pirates remain bottom of npower League Two, Ward is adamant the attitude of his players in difficult conditions was just as important as the result. He said: "I'm really pleased with that because we've gone behind twice and after the second we had a short space of time to get it back. We were chasing a goal and it's worked out nicely. "The reaction of the supporters at the end showed what the club's about. They want to see the team with their hearts on their sleeves, which they did. Between us we need to keep doing that and, even on the darker days when we can't do that, we need to keep that support and effort on the pitch. "It's a good day because they recognise the team's had a really good go and has got something to show for it. "There was a lot of wind on the pitch and a lot of rain throughout and it really was about attitude. Even your top Premier League players would have found it a difficult one to deal with. "If we were to get something out of the game it wasn't going to be a pretty football match but I don't think our supporters are worried about that."