Rovers reporter Rich Sharpe picks out five talking points from the win at Oxford United.

SPARKLING START

Three goals up inside the opening quarter, the game was as good as over.

Rovers are yet to concede a league goal inside the opening 25 minutes but early goals have been the basis to which to build in away wins at Rochdale, Bury and now Oxford.

Having not lost a league game when scoring first since November 5 (2-1 at Aston Villa) this side fancy themselves to see the game through if they can get their noses ahead.

It wasn’t just the goals that was so impressive about the start, it was the way they managed to control proceedings and wrestle the momentum in their favour. They could see what was working and didn’t move away from that, exploiting the space which Bradley Dack continued to find himself in and getting runners in behind what appeared to a fragile Oxford backline.

And set pieces looked an excellent avenue to goal with Rovers scoring for the ninth time this season in the league from dead-ball situations.

SETTING STANDARDS

For there to be a slight disappointment about a 4-2 victory at a side who are the top scorers in the league and seventh going in to the game shows the high standards that Rovers are setting themselves.

Clean sheets matter to this side, the way they continued to press late on in the win at Bury last weekend showed that. So to concede twice, particularly the timings of the two Oxford goals brought a tinge of disappointment to the Rovers ranks.

The standards are necessary if they are to keep making up ground on the top two having moved back in to the top six, and then created a three point gap to the chasing pack, in the space of three days.

They will look at the fine details of the performance but must still focus on the positives that brought them such a terrific start to the match, with the opening half among the most impressive they have put together so far this season.

FINISH THE JOB

Two good away wins in the space of the four days has created an optimism around Rovers, something they must look to continue in their return to Ewood Park on Saturday.

Bristol Rovers are the visitors and arrive in something of a rut, losing eight of their last nine matches in all competitions, and another fast start from Tony Mowbray’s men would help dent that fragile confidence even more.

Chalking up a third win in the space of seven days would cap an excellent return to action for Rovers following the resumption of League One action.

The four game block, starting with Bury and ending with the game in hand at Blackpool prior to the the FA Cup match with Crewe Alexandra, offered Rovers a really kickstart their season.

They’re halfway there, and a four game winning run to match that achieved either side of September’s international break would really give them an impetus to target those automatic promotion spots.

THE WAIT GOES ON

The Oxford win was Rovers’ 23rd game in all competitions, and they are yet to name an unchanged side.

Some of those have been enforced, others tactical switches by Tony Mowbray based upon the opposition and Rovers’ gameplan.

But what hasn’t changed since the 1-0 defeat to Oldham on October 14 is the formation, Rovers look comfortable in their 4-2-3-1 system with everyone seemingly knowing their role within it.

And it only in certain positions in which they are being rotated. The back five look a settled unit and the improvements Ryan Nyambe continues to make put him as first choice at right-back.

Richie Smallwood has been an ever present in the league in the middle of the park, with Corry Evans and Peter Whittingham exchanging places on partnering him, while the three behind the frontman of Elliott Bennett, Bradley Dack and Marcus Antonsson have a fluid look about them and are all in good form.

Joe Nuttall has started the last two games upfront, a position which no player is yet to nail down. But a fifth goal of the season and another good showing leading the line means players are now making it hard to be left out.

POSITIVE PRESSING

It’s not as simple as to say that when Rovers press well they play well, but there is certainly something of a correlation. They are at their best when they play with a high intensity and with the likes of Nyambe, Smallwood, Bennett, Dack and Antonsson in the team, Rovers look an athletic side.

Pressure high up the pitch produced the corner which led to the first goal, while Antonsson’s second came about after Rovers forced a mistake out of Oxford defender Aaron Martin.

When they slipped off that intensity, understandable given the level they reached early on, was when Oxford got their noses back in to the game and the one time they didn’t close the ball down sufficiently in the first-half was when Jack Payne reduced the arrears.

Maintaining that intensity for 90 minutes is near impossible and in the second half Rovers did sit in a little more, proving hard to break down. But they will look to fly out of the traps at Ewood on Saturday as they go in search of a third straight victory.