Make Or Break Derby For Rovers And Yeovil

Bristol Rovers versus Yeovil Town is a rivalry that is still in its infancy, a local derby that only first appeared in 2001, but this weekends match up between the two clubs could be the most important yet.

A win for the Glovers would take them to the 50 point mark, a figure that means almost certain safety, only one point being needed to reach the figure that would have meant survival in League 1 last season, and with seven games to play after this weekends clash they would almost certainly remain in the division for another year.

Rovers don't have that cushion, still four points off of safety they need to gaining points sooner rather than later. They have picked up since the appointment of Stuart Campbell, earning seven points from a possible twelve, but failure to beat Yeovil, one of the lower ranked teams in their run-in, would put the club in real danger of the drop.

The home side are a team in good form, losing only once in their last six games, that defeat coming against high flying Southampton, winning their last three and scoring nine goals in the process, the 5-1 thrashing of Leyton Orient in East London being the standout result from the sequence. At home, however, Yeovil haven't been doing as well as their overall form suggests.

Prior to Tuesdays home win over Carlisle you have to go back to February 1st for a victory at Huish Park, losing three in a row at home over February and the start of March, though these did come against teams who all currently occupy the play-off places.

Rovers are a much improved side since Campbell's appointment and had the side still been under the stewardship of Dave Penney, who failed to win any of his five away games in charge of the Gas, then coming up against an in form Yeovil team would most likely have resulted in another dreadful loss on the road.

But it's all changed now, Rovers have won their last two away games at Tranmere and Notts County. The Pirates only other two away wins this season also came in consecutive fixtures on the road, Dagenham and Huddersfield the victims of those results. Prior to the last two wins Rovers had lost seven away games in a row and hadn't won since that Huddersfield win in early October.

The problem Rovers have faced is conceding goals away from home, Swindon are the only other team in the division to concede as many, 42 in total, twice as many as the Gas have scored on the road. Three times this season Rovers have leaked six in a game, twice in the league and once against Oxford in the League Cup, and under Dave Penney's brief reign 18 goals went in away from the Mem.

One man who will know Rovers better than any other member of the Yeovil squad is striker Andy Williams.

Despite having three years with Rovers Williams never lived up to the hype that surrounded his arrival. After the failure of Richard Walker to step up to League 1 level Williams was thrust into the Rovers team and struggled under the pressure, scoring just six goals in 52 appearances. A season on loan back at former club Hereford was followed by another 45 games for Rovers, most of which came out on the wing, with another three goals scored, most memorably an exquisite curling effort from outside the box to earn Rovers a 3-2 victory away at Southampton.


Williams accepted a contract offer from Yeovil in pre-season, officially joining on August 1st. He has made a successful start to life in Somerset, moving back to the top end of the pitch, and has scored eight goals, though he did have to wait until his sixteenth appearance for the first.

One man Yeovil will have to watch out for is Jo Kuffour who looked to be getting back to his best last time out against Peterborough. The former Arsenal trainee has scored three goals in five games for Rovers against Yeovil, including goals in the last two meetings. If Kuffour does score then it really could see Rovers take something from the game as they are yet to lose when Kuffour has been on the scoresheet for any of his nine goals thus far this season.

Rovers and Yeovil have squared up a total of twelve times, the first meeting ending up in a win on penalties for Rovers in the LDV Vans Trophy while their opponents were still in the conference. Since the Glovers have joined the Football League there have been a number of tasty encounters between the sides, one of the best remembered games finishing 2-2 in 2004. Paul Terry and now Rover Gavin Williams put Yeovil 2-0 up at the Mem, red cards for Steve Elliott and Dave Savaged sandwiched in between, but the Gas fought hard and goals from James Hunt and Junior Agogo levelled the game and saw the Gas run out with a point.

It wasn't until the ninth meeting between the sides that Rovers finally claimed a victory, David Pipe, Darryl Duffy and Rickie Lambert on target in Bristol. Rovers have since won two of the last three games between the sides, the last two going their way. 2010 saw a first victory at Huish Park for Rovers, the away side taking home the points with a 3-0 win, going some way to bury memories of heavy defeats at the ground in previous encounters.

The referee for Saturday's game will be Neil Swarbrick. Swarbrick has previously taken charge of a game Between Rovers and Yeovil, that being the last time the Glovers won against the Gas. The last time the Lancashire official was at a Rovers game he sent off Jeff Hughes in a 3-1 Pirates defeat at Carlisle last April while he also saw Yeovil beat Swindon this January, sending off Robins full back Michael Rose in the process. This season Swarbrick has shown 89 yellow and 5 red cards and has often found himself officiating high scoring encounters.

Bristol Rovers player-manager Stuart Campbell talked about approaching every game in the right manner and believes that his squad can go out and take the points, saying:

"Yeovil have had a great run of form, three wins out of three have propelled them up the league, and that is something we are aiming to do.

"We are going to try and win every game between now and the end of the season, that is our mentality. Every game we approach, we will be looking to win it.

"We are not going to start this game with four or five men up front, but we are going to approach it with a winning mentality.

"We have players with naturally attacking instincts, so it will be normal for them to go out and try and win the game."

Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton spoke of his apprecition for the Rovers management team but thinks his team have a point to prove on Saturday, telling thisissomerset.co.uk:

"I think Saturday is a massive game. It is a massive game for us, our supporters and for the town to see how far we have come to compete with Bristol Rovers and to have overtaken them.

"I like [player-manager] Stuart Campbell and [assistant manager] Craig Hinton, they are good people and they are in the same situation as we were when we took over.

"They will be looking to turn us over, they have got really good players, they are in a false position and they are fighting for their lives as well."

Yeovil will be able to choose from a fully fit squad, though Terry Skiverton will most likely stick with his starting line up from Tuesday's win over Carlisle, playing a 3-5-2 formation.

Rovers are also likely to name an unchanged side with no fresh injury worries to deal with.

Gary Sawyer will serve the second and final game of his suspension for collecting 10 yellow cards in the league over the season. Dominic Blizzard remains injured after returning from a one game loan stint at Port Vale.

Never Ghana Give Up

A goal in second half stoppage time earned Ghana and their unwavering support a draw against a makeshift England side who nonetheless put in a solid all round performance.

After Ashley Young inexplicably hit the bar from the edge of the six yard box and Joe Hart made two fine saves from Dominic Adiyiah, Andy Carroll grabbed his first international goal at the end of a pulsating first half.

It came late but Asamoah Gyan equalised after a fine individual effort, no less than the Sunderland striker deserved for his display.

Fabio Capello stayed true to his word and fielded a much weakened team to that which played against Wales on Saturday, making seven changes in total, sticking with the 4-3-3 formation that worked so well at the weekend. The men to retain their places in the side were goalkeeper Joe Hart, full back Glen Johnson, midfield dynamo Jack Wilshere and winger Ashley Young.

Gareth Barry was named as captain, taking the armband from John Terry who returned to Chelsea on Sunday, and started in the holding midfield role, James Milner coming in to play in the centre with him and Wilshere. Phil Jagielka followed up his late substitute appearance against the Welsh by partnering two-cap Gary Cahill in the centre of defence, Everton's Leighton Baines playing on the left side of the defence.

On Monday it was announced that Andy Carroll would start his second England game up front, Stewart Downing coming in on the wing with Ashley Young on the opposite flank.

Ghana were without Kevin-Prince Boateng of Milan and Chelsea's Michael Essien, neither being named in the squad due to injury. All five of Ghana's English based squad members started, Sulley Muntari playing behind Sunderland team mate Asamoah Gyan. Dominic Adiyiah who was such a success at the last U20 World Cup started out on the wing.

Wembley saw its largest ever away attendance for an England international, 21,000 Ghanaian fans filling a corner of the national stadium, and those fans were so nearly able to cheer the opening goal.

Neat passing from Ghana on the half way line lead to a ball being slipped through for Adiyiah. The youngster, currently away on loan from parent club Milan, ran through but when faced with only Hart to beat contrived to shoot straight at the England stopper.

Minutes later it was Englands chance to bear down on goal, Stewart Downing the man with the chance to beat Kingson in goal, only to see his right footed effort blaze high and wide.

Kingson was, however, called into action not long after, Downing plucking a high ball out of the air, taking it inside and laying it off for Ashley Young whose curling effort forced Kingson to tip the ball around the post at full stretch.

During the first twenty minutes England showed glimpses of what they can do, Johnson and Baines making numerous overlapping runs with their teammates duly supplying them with the required through balls. Despite that Ghana had managed to fashion a couple of chances. Aside from Adiyiah's glaring failure Sulley Muntari curled a free kick over the bar and Asamoah Gyan fired a shot from forty yards that was simple for Hart to collect.

But England continued to come forward and James Milner found himself at the byline, sweeping the ball across for his former Aston Villa teammate Ashley Young who slid in and somehow managed to hit the crossbar from just seven yards out.

Ghana were unperturbed by this, though, and came forward, winning a free kick. Muntari whipped it across and Adiyiah gave James Milner the slip only to see Hart nudge his effort wide of the England goal.

The away side also showed that they were comfortable in possession, stringing a number of passes together to great cheers from their support as they looked to break the England defence down, but their opponents were having none of it and after regaining control of the ball they pushed forward and snatched the opening goal.

Ashley Young clipped a ball in behind the Ghanaian defence where he found Stewart Downing who took the ball out of the air, sending it straight into the path of the on rushing Andy Carroll who drove the ball across Kingson for his first goal for the senior England team.

That was to be the final action of a frantic first half which saw both sides create chances, although England just about deserved the lead on the balance of play.

Moments into the second half Jack Wilshere burst forward to the edge of the Ghana area before knocking the ball across to Ashley Young who curled the ball inches over the crossbar.

It took a while but Ghana grew into the second half, England having to take two digs to clear a free kick before a shot came in from the edge of the area which was deflected behind for a corner, that set piece was headed over the bar.

James Milner very nearly took a boot to the face from Derek Boateng but picked himself up to test Richard Kingson with a stinging effort from just outside the area.

Gyan was the next player to find himself through on goal, though the angle was against him and he eventually smashed it into the side netting.

With 22 minutes left there was to be a first England cap for Wolves Matt Jarvis, coming on for Jack Wilshere.

The final ten minutes saw another Sunderland based Ghanaian take to the field, it was however, Danny Welbeck making his England debut, despite being qualified to represent Ghana.

There was nearly a late scare for England, Stewart Downing meekly hitting a backpass for Joe Hart, the Man City stopper's first time clearance crashing into Asamoah Gyan's outstretched boot but, thankfully, flying metres over his bar.

Just as the PA at Wembley was informing the fans of the three additional minutes there was to be a sting in the tail as Asamoah Gyan collected the ball just outside the England area. He twisted, he turned and he finished coolly across Joe Hart to send the Ghana fans in one of the corners at that end into raptures.

The second half wasn't the free-flowing spectacle that the first was but the last gasp Gyan equaliser gave the fabulous Ghana support what they deserved and what Gyan himself had earned for the shift that he put in for his nation.

England V Ghana Preview

After a comfortable if unspectacular win over Wales on Saturday England now travel back to London for an international friendly against the Black Stars of Ghana, a nation whose 2010 World Cup campaign couldn't have been more different to that of the English.

An Asamoah Gyan penalty got Ghana off to a winning start against Serbia and it was to be the same again to earn a draw with Australia. Their final group match against Germany at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg was watched by over 83,000 people who saw the Germans come out with a 1-0 victory thanks to one of the tournaments stars in Mesut Ozil. But Ghana went through and with the entirety of the African continent and large parts of the rest of the world behind them the west African side faced up against group C winners the USA.

A bright start for Ghana was rewarded with a Kevin-Prince Boateng strike after just five minutes but in the second half they were pegged back thanks to a Landon Donovan penalty. Ghana started the first half of extra time as they started the first of normal time, Asamoah Gyan thrashing the ball into Tim Howard's net to send Ghana into the last eight, only the third African team to reach that stage but, much like England, their campaign ended in controversy in defeat to Uruguay.

Sulley Muntari's strike in first half stoppage time opened the scoring only for Diego Forlan to equalise. As the game drew to a close a ball into the Uruguay area bounced up for Dominic Adiyiah to head towards goal only for Luis Suarez to punch the ball off of the line, denying a goal that would have made Ghana the first African team to reach the semi finals, but as it was a penalty was given. Gyan, who had already scored two penalties in the tournament, blazed his spot kick against the bar, sending the game to a shoot-out which the Black Stars eventually lost.

It was a heart breaking end to a fairytale run that made the world stand up and take note of the new breed of talent coming out of Ghana, many of the squad members being part of the side that won the 2009 U20 World Cup in Egypt.

The last match for Ghana ttok place on Friday and saw the side come out of Brazzaville with a 3-0 victory over Congo in an African Nations Cup qualifier, Adiyiah, Muntari and Prince Tagoe getting on the scoresheet. Meanwhile England saw off Wales in a game they never looked like losing, a Frank Lampard penalty and a Darren Bent tap in within the first fifteen minutes securing the win.

Since then England have released five players back to their clubs, namely Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and newly re-appointed captain John Terry, meaning Fabio Capello had another decision to make as to who will get the armband for Tuesday's game.

The England manager has hinted at changing 'seven or eight' members of his starting line up for this game meaning that Gareth Barry, who briefly held the captaincy during the friendly win over Denmark, will get the chance to lead his nation out at Wembley.

If Capello were to drastically change his eleven it would be more than a tad harsh on Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker who both put in superb performances against Wales on Saturday, although their club managers would gladly see them rested so they are fit for title and relegation battles respectively.

Tuesday's game will, however, give a chance to Andy Carroll and the other strikers in Capello's squad to make a name for themselves and boost their hopes of taking Wayne Rooney's place in England's next tie, a qualifier with Switzerland in June, Rooney being suspended for collecting the second yellow of his qualifying campaign against Wales. In form Gary Cahill will start with Matt Jarvis of Wolves also likely to feature at some stage during the night.

Ghana have five English based players in their squad, John Mensah, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan all plying their trade at Sunderland as well as Fulhams John Paintsil and Blackpool stopper Richard Kingson. Gyan was suspended for Ghana's Nations Cup qualifier against Congo on Friday but will be available for the Wembley clash and it seems likely he will start the game. Other names to look out for include Andre Ayew, son of Ghana's record goalscorer Abedi 'Pele' Ayew, Anthony Annan of Schalke and Milan's Dominic Adiyiah, currently on loan at Partizan Belgrade, who scored eight goals in the Ghanaian U20 side's World Cup victory.

The two nations have never met in a full international before but numerous squad members were part of the U20 side that beat England 4-0 at the 2009 World Cup, Dominic Adiyiah netting twice with Andre Ayew also getting on the scoresheet.

Ghana are a highly motivated side who have a great team ethic and ranked at 16 in the world they will be no pushover for an England side that look likely to be inexperienced on the international stage.

You can keep up with key updates from the game on HJBSports Twitter feed and don't forget to check back here for our postgame match report.

Glorious Sunshine And A Footballing Carnival

For the first time since the World Cup I've had a veritable feast of football, three games in three days, could this long weekend have gotten any better?

Well, as it happens, it probably could have done had either Will Hoskins or Jo Kuffour put away the chances they had to beat Peterborough on Friday night but I'd have taken a point prior to the match so lets not be too downhearted, eh. Following that was England's comfortable win over Wales on Saturday and Scotland's friendly clash with Brazil at the Emirates, but back to the Rovers game.

Pre-match it looked tough against the Football Leagues top scorers who, despite losing 1-0 to MK Dons on Tuesday, had won five of their last six games, scoring 19 goals in the process, and so it was with a hint of trepidation that I headed to the Mem. My worries could have been far worse had Stuart Campbell not renewed the spirit in the Rovers dressing room and claimed two wins out of the three games he has been in charge for, and that spirit was on display almost immediately.

Jo Kuffour swivelled inside the opposition area and drove the ball across Joe Lewis for his ninth goal of the season. In the end Rovers managed to maintain their record of not losing when Kuffour has scored this term, although Gasheads should also remember the fact that the striker has previously been relegated from League 1 three times, firstly with Torquay and then with Brentford and Bournemouth in consecutive seasons.

Peterborough looked a decent side and the fact that they got an equaliser wasn't much of a surprise, neither was the scorer of the own goal, Byron Anthony, but the red card they received at the end of the first half galvanised the fans and gave the players a chance against a clearly superior eleven.

If Rovers had still been under the stewardship of Dave Penney then Boro's second would have been a killer blow and probably have seen the Gas concede another two on top but there is a passion in the eyes of the squad since Campbell's appointment and they began to take the game to the visitors. The equaliser was followed by two chances for Rovers to win it but it wasn't to be and the Rovers fans could go away retaining belief that they can beat the drop.

Next up for me was Englands triumph over Wales in Cardiff, not that I was in Cardiff and neither was I in my own house as I don't have sky TV available to me, so it was to the next door neighbours I went.

In truth it wasn't a great game. The two early goals could easily have lead to a rout for England as it killed off any hope the home side had of an upset but as it was England took their foot off of the gas and let the game stroll by. The goals themselves were all too simple for England, the second especially showed a weakness in Wales defence that dogged them in the first half, the fact that Danny Collins was often found too far away from his closest centre back Ashley Williams, giving Johnson the chance to beat a ball through to Ashley Young who rolled the ball across for Bent to tap in.


There were impressive performances from England, though. Jack Wilshere looked mercurial in the centre of midfield getting through countless amounts of work box-to-box while Scott Parker proved that he can do it on the international stage, biting at the Welsh as soon as they came anywhere near him but despite that he seems unlikely to keep his place for Tuesdays game against Ghana as Fabio Capello looks as though he may change his entire starting eleven for the Wembley game. Indeed five of Saturday's starting line up have already been released back to their clubs including Wayne Rooney and controversial captain John Terry.

For all the failings in his private life that saw Terry stripped of the captaincy the central defender, in my eyes at least, has all the qualities required to captain his country. He is a natural leader, big, bold and always gives 100% to the cause and as long as his fellow international squad members back him the public should too.

That being said the way it was handled by Capello was nothing short of slapstick, as leaks came out in the media, often undermining him and the fact that he had failed to speak to Ferdinand on the matter made things worse for the Italian, the United defender feeling rightfully miffed about the whole subject.

The final game of my weekend came thanks to ITV who provided live coverage of the friendly game between Scotland and Brazil. Before the game started ITV showed an interview with Ronaldo, one of the first international superstars I came across.

My first footballing memory was of the 2002 world cup in Japan and South Korea where Ronaldo showed why he was one of the worlds best, scoring eight goals to claim the Golden Shoe as he lead Brazil to the biggest prize in world football, including netting two goals in the final against Germany. Aside from his 62 goals for the Brazilian national team he also finished with 352 goals in 517 appearances in a distinguished club career that saw him take in both Milan clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

During his interview with Gabriel Clarke Ronaldo mentioned how he believed Neymar would become key to Brazil's 2014 World Cup campaign in their own backyard while Adrian Chiles and the ITV pundits raved about the 19 year old starlet. Aside from reading about Chelsea's interest I didn't know much about Neymar and so this game gave me the chance to see what he was all about and form an opinion on whether he is as good as everybody says. I found out everybody was right.


I've never seen such a talented player at just 19, he has the great ability on the ball that comes so naturally to Brazilians and also showed good pace and movement as he tore the Scots apart, claiming the first goal with a neat finish after Gary Caldwell backed off in fear and also scored the second having won his own penalty after a trip from Charlie Adam.

He has four years on Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world, and if a big money move to Europe does come around soon he surely has the chance to become as good as the Argentine.

Having taken in three football matches in as many days I'd feel as though I was ready to go back to work, but alas, I have the week off which I will undoubtedly fill with the England game and other things football related before watching Bristol Rovers relegation tussle with Yeovil.

This weekend just seems to keep on going.

Rovers Show Spirit In Fight To Survive

Bristol Rovers battled hard to earn a point against fourth placed Peterborough, though they could have taken all three points if it weren't for United keeper Joe Lewis.

Jo Kuffour opened the scoring for Rovers before a Byron Anthony goal cancelled out his teammates strike. Ten man Peterborough took a brief lead through George Boyd but Jeff Hughes scored the nights final goal to see the game finish 2-2.

Rovers made two changes to the side that beat Notts County on Saturday, Byron Anthony returning from injury to take the suspended Gary Sawyer's place at left back while Jo Kuffour replaced Gavin Williams, partnering Will Hoskins up top. The away side also made two changes Grant McCann missing out due to international commitments and dropping Ryan Bennett.

It was the ever improving Gas who took the lead after just five minutes, a Byron Anthony throw in bounced off of a defenders head and looped to Jo Kuffour who turned on a sixpence before striking the ball across the outstretched hands of Joe Lewis.

Boro's big threat was Craig Mackail-Smith. The striker, a late call up to the Scotland squad this weekend, found himself with the ball at his feet in the area but Conrad Logan proved he was up to the task, blocking his goalbound effort. They weren't to be denied, however, and they soon found their equaliser.

George Boyd picked up the ball out wide and looked to whip it into the area. He found a head that converted it into a goal but unfortunately for Rovers it was Byron Anthony who turned the ball into his own net.

One of the games major talking points came when Joe Lewis drove a pass through the heart of the Rovers defence to put Mackail-Smith through on goal, only for the striker to throw himself down when Byron Anthony came sliding in, the referee was having none of it though, waving away the visitors protests, Joe Lewis charging up to the halfway line to berate the referee and receiving a yellow card for his troubles.

With half time approaching Peterborough found themselves down to ten men after full back Mark Little received a second yellow card for a needless foul on Stuart Campbell in the Rovers half. His long trudge off the pitch was greeted by jeers from the home faithful who really began to believe their favourites could pull a result out of the bag.

But the away side obviously hadn't been reading from that script at half time and came out fired up for the second half and, despite their one man disadvantage, looked to take the game to Rovers and this paid dividends eight minutes after the restart.

A throw in routine from the Pirates went awry and the ball was quickly picked up on by Mackail-Smith, his neat pass found Boyd in the area and the Peterborough attacker was able to lash a fine shot past Logan to send the visiting supporters into raptures as he celebrated with them.

A month ago that goal would have deflated the Rovers players but under Stuart Campbell there has been a renewed passion and resilience and this was once again on display as the home side came forward.

Will Hoskins nearly put Rovers on level terms, his strike looping off a Peterborough players leg and looping over Joe Lewis' head, the one time England squad member losing the flight of the ball only to turn and watch it drop onto his crossbar and away. It wasn't long before the game was to be squared up again, though.

A long ball out of defence found Jo Kuffour out on the right and he slipped a ball through for Harry Pell to chase to the byline. The youngsters cross flew across the face of goal and found the diving head of Jeff Hughes who nodded in his 10th goal of the season and his first in eleven games.

It was the home side who began to turn the screws and Will Hoskins saw the ball nicked away from him as he was about to shoot after the Peterborough defence failed to get themselves to a long goalkick from Conrad Logan.

After a weak shot from Rovers debutant Reggie Lambe trundled wide of the upright and Will Hoskins showed great agility to volley over Jo Kuffour found himself one-on-one with Lewis. The former Arsenal trainee wormed his way into a great shooting position but his attempt to put the ball in the bottom corner could only find the visiting keepers hands in fine form, Lewis getting down sharply to his left to keep him out.

With the games frantic pace starting to slow there was one last, great opportunity for a winner and that chance fell to the leagues leading marksman, Craig Mackail-Smith. It wasn't to be for Boro's 27 goal top scorer, however, as his attempt to place the ball past Logan rolled agonisingly wide of the post, the Watford born frontman showing his frustration by laying down, hands over face for a good twenty seconds before Logan restarted play and that was to be it for a game that either side could have won.

After the game Stuart Campbell talked about how his charges were unlucky not to take all three points from the game, telling bristolrovers.co.uk:

"The lads are all disappointed that we haven't actually won the game, which I think is a measure of how far we have come in the last few weeks.

"Unfortunately we were not able to take one of the many chances we created in the second half.

"A point tonight keeps our run going, and we will be going into the Yeovil game full of confidence and looking forward to it."

Peterborough showed why they are one of the most feared teams in the division, that despite losing a man, while Rovers showed the renewed spirit in the camp and the will that they are going to need if they are to beat the drop come the end of the season.

Conrad Logan, Rovers Saviour?

These last few weeks of the season are going to drag, every game will feel like it lasts 180 minutes, the tension at the Memorial Stadium is going to be at an unbelievable level. Every point that Rovers pick up between now and May 7th is a step in the right direction as they fight for their lives to survive in League 1 for another season and on Saturday the players took all three points from Meadow Lane to beat Notts County by one goal to nil.

After the performance against Huddersfield last weekend there was an air of confidence among Rovers fans that the team could go to Nottingham and get a result and that was proved to be well placed as Rovers put in a solid performance, though they did ride their luck at times, Conrad Logan making numerous saves which included a penalty, his second denial of a spot kick in eight days. The penalty decision itself was rather soft, former Manchester United youngster Febien Brandy getting ahead of Jeff Hughes before tumbling over under little pressure from the Northern Ireland international but Logan's save from Alan Gow's penalty was excellent, flinging himself to his right.

I'll admit, when I first heard we had signed Logan on loan I was sceptical, having seen him play once before at the Mem for Stockport and catching little excerpts of him on Football League highlights I wasn't at all convinced but that was two seasons ago. Until joining Rovers he hadn't gone out on loan since finishing his spell at Stockport in May 2009 and has spent his time playing a season in Leicester's reserve team and made seven appearances at the start of this season, conceding twenty goals during those games.

Despite that spell he is clearly confident in his own abilities which is just what was needed at the Mem when he came in. Luke Daniels was having a tough time in goal and was struggling with the defence in front of him. Logan is much more talkative than Daniels and appears to be much more of a character which no doubt helped in the dressing room as well.

He made his debut against Oldham Athletic at the Mem, keeping a clean sheet in the process and the signs have been good ever since. There was one mistake against Colchester, a poor drop kick rebounding off of Jerel Ifil, eventually falling for Kayode Odejayi to slot home, but that aside he has been solid and of the other four goals he has conceded one came from the penalty spot after a contentious decision, one was a blasted free kick from Danny Green and a free header for Romain Vincelot was followed up by a well struck volley against Huddersfield.

It could have gotten worse against Huddersfield, had he not saved his first penalty when up against Jordan Rhodes. The penalty stop against County at the weekend, one of many other saves that he made during the game will have Rovers fans thinking that they have someone in goal who is worthy of the goalkeepers jersey, not only becayse of his shot stopping and reflex saves but also his kicking abilities, much improved over Luke Daniels during his period in the side.

There have been a couple of heart in mouth moments, mostly due to his willingness to attack the ball from corners, but these have proved few and far between and Gasheads will be pleased to have a keeper who has great command of his area.

Monday came the news that Logan has extended his loan spell at Rovers until the end of the season which was met with due pleasure by Rovers fans.

When Mikkel Andersen went back to Reading there were big shoes to fill, Luke Daniels failed to live up to the hype that surrounded him following his spells at Shrewsbury and Tranmere. Conrad Logan, however, has stood up and made himself counted and looks to have the number one spot tied down for the rest of the season. He has proved himself to be an excellent capture for Rovers and he will be key to their survival chances and I'm quite happy to admit I was wrong on this front.

The weekend win over County kept Rovers in the hunt for survival but there is still a long way to go until the end of the season which leaves a lot of room for the shape of the bottom four to change. With a defence that finally looks solid and a goalkeeper brimming with confidence Rovers look as though they have turned a corner.

Do Or Die Time For Bristol Rovers

Since the appointment of Stuart Campbell to the managers post at Bristol Rovers there has been an upturn in the football on display, a win over Tranmere just a day after he took the reins was followed by a game against promotion chasing Huddersfield Town which saw Rovers unfortunate not to collect at least a point, having had two goals disallowed and a penalty shout getting turned down by the referee, all in the space of the last ten minutes.

But now is not the time for good performances alone, without the end results going their way Rovers, who currently have the weight of 23 teams above them on their shoulders, will almost certainly go down.

One possible glimmer of hope for their survival means a horrific end for one of their west country rivals as Plymouth Argyle threaten to implode. Rovers have lost a possible six points to Plymouth this season and if, heaven forbid, they do go under Rovers would become level on points with both Tranmere and Walsall and sit just one off of Yeovil, but that's not a scenario the club could look back on with any pride if it did mean survival at seasons end.

Under Dave Penney the players seemed to lack any motivation and some looked as though they didn't care but under Campbell there is a new air of confidence, a man they all know and trust and who is regarded as a legend by many fans having given seven years service to the blue and white shirt, and in midweek another fans favourite returned to the club in the shape of former centre back Craig Hinton.

'Hints' spent five years at Rovers putting in innumerous solid displays across the backline but is most fondly remembered for his five goals during the 2007/08 season which earned him the nickname 'Goal Machine'. Three of those goals came in Rovers epic run to the quarter finals of the FA Cup, his header at Craven Cottage making Rovers trip to Premier League Fulham a day that many fans will never forget. Aside from his 100% effort games on the pitch Hinton was also a lively character in the dressing room, something which Campbell no doubt wishes to capture.

Despite having won only three League games since October this Rovers team are playing with a new air of confidence under Campbell who has taken to employing a 4-2-3-1 formation, sitting Gavin Williams in the hole just behind Will Hoskins. It is Hoskins, however, who has looked out of form in recent games, admitting that his fitness has been questionable during a sequence that hasn't seen him score in the seven games since defeat at Rochdale.

This weekend Rovers face a Notts county team who, despite currently having only 42 points, are a good bet to stay up this season with either three or four games in hand over those who currently fill the bottom four.

Since October last year County have been under the leadership of former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince who returned to management after an unproductive second stint in charge of MK Dons. Though, their league form looks set to leave them in a lower mid-table position fans of the Magpies will look back on a season that has seen them beat League 1 high flyers Bournemouth and Premier League Sunderland in the FA Cup before taking Manchester City to a replay, having briefly lead against the multi-millionaires at Meadow Lane in the original tie.

Notts have played six games since that cup defeat, winning two, drawing one and losing three, though for the last five games of that run in they have been without talismanic striker Lee Hughes who looks set to return this coming weekend, although, none of Hughes' 12 goals thus far this season have come in the last four appearances he has been able to make for the club. The controversial Hughes is not likely to be the only County player to receive a few jeers from the travelling Gasheads as pacy wingman Ivan Sproule is currently on loan at the club from Bristol City.

Rovers have won the last three games they have played against County, beating them 2-1 at the Mem earlier this season, Notts' then manager Craig Short not having too many favourable things to say about Paul Trollope's Rovers side after the result. The other two wins came back in Rovers last season in League 2, 2006/07. Rovers overall record against County doesn't make for good reading, this weekends home side having beaten Rovers 31 times compared to the 24 results that have gone the other way. None of the last fifteen games between the two clubs have seen more than three goals scored, with no more than two for either side individually.

Rovers will be without midfielder Dominic Blizzard who has joined his former Stockport manager Jim Gannon at Port Vale while young centre back Cian Bolger returned to Leicester City on Wednesday.

Centre back Dave McCracken is in contention for a place in the squad having overcome injury but Byron Anthony's ankle is unlikely to recover in time for him to feature.

Notts County striker Lee Hughes is likely to return from injury having missed the clubs previous five games but Craig Westcarr is out with a knee injury.

County have a large number of other players who will be missing including Alan Judge (foot), Ben Burgess (hamstring), Krystian Pearce (head), Karl Hawley (thigh), Lewis Gobern (knee), John Thompson (hamstring), Ricky Ravenhill (ankle) and Kevin Smith (foot). Carl Regan will also be unavailable due to the fact that Rovers are his parent club.

Newly appointed Gas assistant Craig Hinton is pleased to have been given the chance at Rovers and believes the Pirates can beat the drop, he told thisisbristol.co.uk:

"It's a good opportunity for me and I want to do all I can to try and get the club out of the situation they are in.

"I've got full belief that we can do it and I think the players have got that as well. Everybody needs to work together and push in the right direction. The fans are brilliant here and I know if we are all pulling together they will be fully behind us."

His manager Stuart Campbell knows that his charges have a big task ahead of them, telling BBC Radio Bristol:

"Every game we look at, we think 'this is the kind of game that we've got to go and win' because of our situation and Saturday will be no different.

"They've got a big name manager, who's very experienced and he'll have them well prepared.

"They're a very strong side and it's going to be a difficult game for us."

Chelsea Progress With Illustrious Ease

Chelsea confirmed their safe passage through to the quarter finals of the Champions League with comfort despite the final 0-0 scoreline with FC Copenhagen at Stamford Bridge.

The best chance of the game fell to Didier Drogba at the start of the second half but he volleyed wide while Copenhagen scared as Dame N'Doye struck Petr Cech's upright from a first half free kick and Jon Obi Mikel nodded the ball onto the top of the Danes crossbar.

Despite having 28 attempts on goal Chelsea couldn't find the breakthrough as they were too often wasteful in front of goal, but with the lack of attacking threat coming from the visitors the result never looked in any doubt. Nicolas Anelka always looked threatening and Yuri Zhirkov produced a fine display in the first half before both were subbed off in the second half.

Copenhagen can look back on their campaign as a success, becoming the first Danish team to make the last sixteen and having also earned a 1-1 draw against Barcelona.

The notable exception from the Chelsea starting line up was Fernando Torres, dropped to the bench, explained by Carlo Ancelotti as rotation. There had been much speculation in media circles as to whether the Spaniard to start but the Chelsea boss kept to his pre-match word that he would rotate his side. Nicolas Anelka was the man to come in, partnering Dider Drogba up top.

Jon Obi Mikel started in central midfield despite the threat of a one match ban if he were to receive a yellow card and Branislav Ivanovic was chosen to pair up with John Terry at the heart of the Blues defence.

For Copenhagen Mikael Antonsson overcame injury fears to start at centre back while former Chelsea player Jesper Gronkjaer started up front, sat just off Dame N'Doye.

It was the home side who had the first attempt on goal of the evening, Ashley Cole being slipped in behind the Danish defence and squaring for Lampard who got ahead of the near post and got too much of his boot on the ball, sending it wide of the upright.

Copenhagen's opening opportunity came in the shape of a 19 yard free kick after Vingaard was brought down by Bosingwa, Claudemir was only able to drive the ball straight into the Chelsea wall however.

Didier Droga showed good feet to create space for a shot but his long range effort was easily stopped by Copenhagen keeper Wiland.

On 18 minutes Chelsea produced a fine move to create a chance. Zhirkov poked through for Drogba to head into the area, the Ivorian producing a delightful backheel for Ashley Cole who squared for Zhirkov, only to see the man who started the move push the ball wide of the left hand post.

Not long after it was Anelka who had the chance to put the Londoner's ahead as Ramires played an expansive ball out from the back to Zhirkov who burst towards the opposition area and play Anelka through, the Frenchman finding the angle too tight in the end, Wiland coming out to save.

The display from both Anelka and Drogba in the first twenty minutes vilified Ancelotti's choice to drop Torres to the bench as the frontmen were making dangerous side-to-side runs that had the Danish defence baffled.

Following a John Terry foul just outside the area Dame N'Doye had the chance to line up a free kick. Petr Cech stepped to his left, guessing that was the way the Senegalese striker was going to go. He was, however, left flat footed as the effort went to his other side, rattling the inside of the post and rebounding to safety.

Yuri Zhirkov continued to make incisive runs into the centre of the pitch and he had another chance when Anelka cut back from the byline and pushed the ball across to the Russian who shot wide as he found himself under pressure.

The last ten minutes of the first half went quietly, Chelsea producing a couple of opportunities, though often finding the final ball lacking, while the visitors began to look stretched and often off of the pace of the game.

Despite Chelsea's dominance in the first half the Danish fans in the Shed End were in good voice supporting their boys in pink. Much of the home sides threat came from a left hand side which saw Ashley Cole bombing forward from his wingback position and Yuri Zhirkov cutting inside and causing havoc as Drogba and Anelka ran the opposite direction, cutting across the Copenhagen defence.

The best chance of the game yet fell to Didier Drogba three minutes into the second half, a wonderful in swinging ball from Jose Bosingwa out on the right found the big striker in behind the opposition defence but he could only place his right foot volley wide of the mark.

Drogba was soon involved again, flicking a ball over the top of the Danes backline sending Anelka through but with the angle against him the Frenchman turned back inside and allowed the defenders to get back at him.

Moments later Chelsea had a corner from Lampard which bounced off heads and found its way to Mikel on the corner of the six yard box but he could only head onto the bar under pressure from Jesper Gronkjaer.

Mikael Antonsson, who faced a race to get fit for the game, proved his inclusion was not a mistake as he raced after Nicolas Anelka and with the Chelsea striker looking almost certain to score the defender produced a miraculous sliding challenge to get a block on Anelka's effort.

As the second half wore on Chelsea continued to create without the cutting edge to make a guilt edged chance but with Copenhagen rarely causing any trouble the game was simply rolling on by.

Fernando Torres was eventually called into the fray with 23 minutes left on the clock, he replaced Nicolas Anelka who had had a decent game, using his pace and movement to get behind the Copenhagen back four on numerous occasions. The world cup winners first touch was greeted with great cheers from the home faithful and the shot that came from it, albeit after some weaving, took a deflection that nearly wrong-footed Wiland.

Torres' first clean effort on goal came from a tight angle as he forced himself past Wendt at right back and shot into the hands of Wiland.

Copenhagen finally found a way into the Chelsea penalty area as Dame N'Doye burst at their defence, only to see himself blaze high and wide of the goal when he had two players in the box with him.

Dider Drogba possesses great power in his shooting so the chance he had from a free kick he won himself could, and perhaps should, have resulted in the Copenhagen keeper having to do more than thrust his arms in front of him and taking the ball from the air.

There were long range efforts from Bosingwa, Drogba and Essien within the final ten minutes and finally Frank Lampard tried to set up Fernando Torres for his first Chelsea goal when he would have been better off taking the shot himself.

Bolger Returns To Leicester

Bristol Rovers have confirmed that young centre back Cian Bolger will not have his loan spell renewed and as such he will return to his parent club Leicester City.

The decision comes as Rovers have numerous centre backs returning from injury and suspension.

The Irishman made his Rovers bow and professional debut in the 6-1 defeat to Walsall at the Bescot Stadium, coming on as a 78th minute substitute, Rovers not conceding during his brief stint on the pitch. He went on to start the next three games under Dave Penney, scoring an own goal against Brighton after a Luke Daniels save rebounded in off of his leg and receiving two yellow cards against Rochdale which saw him banned for one game.

Bolger had to wait nearly a month to get his next chance, coming on as a half time substitute following Jerel Ifil's red card against Dagenham and helped the Gas to keep a clean sheet in his final appearance for the club against Tranmere Rovers.

Chelsea V FC Copenhagen Preview

Chelsea's first leg victory over FC Copenhagen could prove to be a game that turns a faltering season into one which will end with a modicum of success.

The reigning Premier League champions are well off the pace in their domestic title race and were dumped out of the FA Cup by Everton after their FA Cup 4th round replay went to penalties leaving the Champions League, the prize that has continually eluded the club since Roman Abramovich pumped his millions into the club.

Three days after that shoot-out loss the Londoner's travelled to Denmark with manager Carlo Ancelotti under sustained pressure to turn things around and a Nicolas Anelka double sent the Chelsea faithful away with a glimmer of hope, a glimmer that was to grow nearly two weeks later after the clubs next game, a massive clash with league leaders Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

It didn't start too well either, Wayne Rooney driving home from twenty yards to give the visitors a 29th minute lead. It was down to David Luiz to score his first goal for the club and level up the match before Smalling fouled Zhirkov in the area to give Frank Lampard a chance from the spot, the penalty ace obliging with the winner. Off-form Blackpool were next to feel the wraith of a Chelsea machine slowly clicking into gear, Lampard snatching two with John Terry scoring the other in a 3-1 win.

A weekend off due to the FA Cup defeat followed meaning the Blues will go into tonight's game with the Danish champions as fresh as a field of daisies and the comfortable victory in the first leg means that Chelsea shouldn't have to raise their game too high to dispose of the visitors.

But there should be no room for complacency, Copenhagen manager Stale Solbakken has stated his intent by telling the media his team will go out and take the game to their more illustrious opponents.

"It is stupid to go into it defensive when you're behind 2-0.

"If we score they will be nervous. I can guarantee that. The key to the game is who scores the first goal.

"If we do, it will be the inverted psychology no matter how Chelsea has prepared for the game."

His side have also played two league games since the first leg, initially losing to FC Midtjylland, their only league defeat thus far this season, before claiming victory over Aalborg thanks to a Christian Bolanos goal. It looks as though the club will retain their league title while they have shown that they are no mugs in European competition either, claiming two wins over Panathinaikos and one over Rubin Kazan in the group stage as well as earning a 1-1 draw against the might of Barcelona.

In team news Alex will not be ready to return to the Chelsea squad due to a knee injury while Yossi Benayoun is still out with a long term injury.

For Copenhagen Zdenek Pospech is suspended having been booked in the first leg. Fellow defender Mikael Antonsson is out with a muscle injury.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has come out and said that he will rotate the team for tonight's game, a huge game at home to Manchester City coming up on Sunday. The Italian said:

"I want to rotate in this game, I didn't choose the team for tomorrow but I want to use rotation because we have all the players fit and I want to use all the players to prepare for these two games with Copenhagen and Manchester City.

"My best team is not just 11 players. I am happy in this moment because all the players are fit, Alex came back to train today in good condition and is ready for the next game, Benayoun will come back to train maybe Thursday or Friday with the team, so every player is fit and in good condition.

"This is a fantastic moment for us to have all the players fit and we want to maintain motivation for everyone, to have all the players fit in the next games of the Premier League and Champions League."

Chelsea fans will hope for a smooth passage through to the quarter final to join both Manchester United and Tottenham as English representatives in the last eight, but Copenhagen will come out and look to force the pace and if they get an early goal, well, let's not go there just yet.

HJBSports Twitter feed will keep you up to date with the goals and key moments from tonight's tie and look out for our match report that will be up shortly afterwards.

Rovers Denied By Officious Official

Referee's often come in for insurmountable criticism at the highest levels of the professional game and has been visual in the past couple of weeks. Be it Wayne Rooney's elbowing incident on James McCarthy or Massimo Busacca's controversial sending off of Robin Van Persie against Barcelona the pressure is well and truly on. But it's not just at the top where officials are involved in contentious decision making, spare a thought for those in the lower divisions of English football and, for this week, the fans of Bristol Rovers.

When your down at the wrong end of the table everything seems to go against you as the Gas have found out this season and when Mr Brendan Malone waddled onto the pitch their luck was not about to change. Initially Rovers were the masters of their own demise, Jordan Rhodes, a late inclusion into the Huddersfield starting eleven, stretched his left leg up to waist height and volleyed into the far corner past Conrad Logan.

It could have easily gotten worse for the Gas as Joey Gudjonsson was given space just outside the area and sent a stinging drive off of Logan's right hand post, the ball rebounding to Rhodes who horribly sliced his shot wide of an open goal.

As the half grew on Rovers found themselves unable to create opportunities within the Terriers area and were left to shoot from range, Jeff Hughes forcing a fine diving save from Smithies and Gavin Williams bending an effort around the post. By this time the referee was not endearing himself to the home faithful with a couple of peculiar decisions but what was most notable was his lack inability to keep up with the play.

I'm not one to criticise people for their weight and fitness levels but for a man who gets paid to referee a professional football match Brendan Malone seemed unable to keep up with an end to end game of football. Not only that but the fact that it was his first season refereeing in the Football League was shown up.

The half ended with Will Hoskins swinging his left foot goalwards, only to see his effort fly over Alex Smithies crossbar.

In the second half Rovers came out and looked confident and began to play slightly further up the field, Kuffour coming on for Williams five minutes in to see Rovers change formation to play with a front two, it was visitors, however, who were to have the next big chance to score.

Scott Arfield was allowed to get to the Rovers byline and put the ball across goal, Conrad Logan making a bit of a meal of dealing with the cross and the ball bounced up and struck Danny Coles on the arm, a penalty being given after Malone consulted with his linesman. Rhodes was the man who had the chance to double Huddersfield's lead, his penalty, though, was poor and Logan saved with his legs as he dived across the goal.

Soon after the game was stopped for a good three minutes as referee Malone found himself unable to carry on officiating, his linesman taking his place on the field and he was to be no more popular with the home faithful than the previous incumbent.

Rovers continued to pepper Smithies goalmouth with no luck but as the game went into the final ten minutes Rovers began to use a secret weapon, the long throw of James Tunnicliffe. The on loan Brighton defender hurled the ball to the edge of Town's six yard area and Smithies came out to claim the ball, eventually getting underneath it, bundling it into the back of his own net. The Rovers celebrations were shortlived, though, the referee calling Chris Lines up for a foul in the back of the England youth international keeper, though replays show Smithies was surrounded by not only Lines but his own defenders.

The decision was debatable and Rovers player-manager Stuart Campbell had his own say post match, telling bristolrovers.co.uk:

"I thought it was a soft decision for the first disallowed goal, I thought the keeper misread the flight of the ball, and if anything it was his own player that clashed with him. I thought it should have been a goal for us."

Minutes later Jo Kuffour crossed from the edge of the area for Chris Lines to head goalwards, his shot producing an excellent save from the Huddersfield keeper who pushed the ball to the feet of Will Hoskins who turned the ball into the goal. But as he turned to celebrate the linesman drew up his flag to chalk another Rovers goal off.

As the final whistle drew ever closer Will Hoskins found himself in the away sides area, going down from a shove in the back by former Bristol City defender Jamie McCombe, unfortuneatley for the Pirates the new referee was having none of it.

There was one final chance from a corner but Chris Lines dead ball swung over everybody's heads and out for a goal kick. Even the added time was a cause for grief from the Gasheads, six substitutions and a refereeing fiasco that took at the very least three minutes should have seen a minimum of six minutes, only for the extra official to hold up five on his board.

Rovers can go away feeling agreived at not having picked up at least a point but if they continue to play in the same vein then they will give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding the dreaded drop down to League 2.

New Man, New Start - Huddersfield Preview

Last Saturday, just before 5PM loyal Gasheads were slowly trudging away from the Memorial Stadium having booed their team off of the field after a 2-0 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge, dropping them a place down to 23rd, five points from safety and only one off of the bottom.

But since then there has been upheaval as manager Dave Penney was relieved of his duties, as was first team coach Martin Foyle. Rovers captain Stuart Campbell taking control of the first team until the end of the season, assisted by central defenders Danny Coles and Byron Anthony. Campbell became the fourth Rovers manager of the season, Paul Trollope and Darren Patterson being the others aside from Penney, and he was quickly thrown into the action, taking his new charges to Merseyside to face Tranmere the next day.

With injuries affecting a large number of the Rovers squad Campbell played himself on Tuesday night, one of the holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation, lone striker Will Hoskins taking the armband from his new gaffer. It was to be a successful start to the Campbell reign, Chris Lines scoring the only goal in the 19th minute, controlling and striking the ball into the bottom corner, Will Hoskins also went on to hit the post. So it's played one, won one for Stuart Campbell but this weekends opponents will be a different challenge altogether.

Huddersfield are unbeaten in the league in 2011, losing only two cup games to Arsenal and Carlisle. The 4-0 defeat to Carlisle in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy was followed by a 3-0 win in the second leg, nearly fulfilling a miraculous recovery. They have gone slightly off the boil, however, drawing five of their last seven games. The Yorkshire club have the second best record on the road in League 1 this season, and haven't lost in seven away fixtures.

The Terriers have three goalscorers into double figures so far this season, in midfielder Gary Roberts, with 11, winger Anthony Pilkington, 14, and forward Jordan Rhodes, 17, though Pilkington will be out of this weekends clash with a dislocated ankle and a broken fibula. One member of the Huddersfield squad sure to get a hot reception is centre back Jamie McCombe who made 132 appearances in four years at Bristol City and received a red card in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

In charge of the players will be Wiltshire referee Brendan Malone who is in his first season as a referee in the Football League. The official has dished out 60 yellow and 4 red cards in the games that he has refereed this season, mainly in League's 1 and 2, though he was promoted to officiate for a Championship game between Portsmouth and Crystal Palace three weeks ago where he handed out six yellow cards.

In complete contrast to the away sides form Rovers have been dreadful of late, resulting in the dismissal of Dave Penney. Under the former Doncaster boss Rovers won two, drew two and lost nine of their games, a sequence that included five losses on the bounce. Two wins in their last four have helped the Gas to keep up with the pack as has the ten point deduction handed to Plymouth Argyle, but a string of wins is required for any hope of survival this term. Interestingly Rovers last draw came eleven games ago thanks to a 0-0 stalemate with Hartlepool.

The record between Rovers and Huddersfield is tight with the Gas just edging it with 13 wins to the Terriers 12 with 12 draws. The home side go in unbeaten in their last three with Huddersfield, a 1-0 win came earlier this season, Will Hoskins curling in a late belter while Jeff Hughes scored the winner in a tumultuous game at the Mem last season with the game at the Galpharm finished 0-0. Josh Klein-Davies poached for the opening goal on his Rovers debut in 2008 and Chris Lines put Rovers ahead again in the same fixture, only to see Huddersfield run out 3-2 winners in Bristol and the Yorkshiremen came from behind again in the following season, meaning Jo Kuffour's acrobatic effort was eventually in vein.

The most memorable of the matches these sides have played out came at Wembley in the 1995 Division 2 play-off final, Andy Booth heading Huddersfield in front before Marcus Stewart drew the Pirates level to see the teams go in level at half time. Chris Billy stooped to nod the ball past Brian Parkin for the winner which sent Huddersfield up to the first division and deny a spirited Rovers side.

Rovers will have to do without the services of both Danny Coles and Byron Anthony, the pair being sidelined with ankle injuries.

Jerel Ifil will return from suspension while JP Kalala returns from injury. Harry Pell was an injury scare but will be fit to take a place in the squad.

For Huddersfield Anthony Pilkington will be missing for the rest of the season with a dislocated ankle and leg break. Antony Kay won't be fit for the game with ankle ligament damage and fellow centre half Lee Peltier is suspended. Gary Naysmith will not be fit in time to face the Gas.

Jordan Rhodes will be available for the game as will midfielder Joey Gudjonsson who will return to the squad.

New player-manager Stuart Campbell knows how hard it will be for Rovers, not only against Huddersfield, but also in order to keep the club in League 1. He told BBC Radio Bristol:

"We're under no illusions on the size of the task and the job in hand to get out of the trouble we're in, but we're going to give it our utmost.

"They are one of the best teams going forward, but the lads will be up for it and more importantly so will the fans who I'm sure will come out in their numbers."

The Huddersfield manager Lee Clarke is unfazed by his teams recent record against Rovers and has the belief that his side can come away with the points, telling htafc.com:

"We have struggled against Bristol Rovers recently, but in the home game earlier this season we were unlucky. We dominated them all over the pitch and it was one of those days when nothing went for us. If we play in the same manner tomorrow then we have got the players who are inform in front of goal who will finish those chances off.

"It will be a tough test; they are battling for their lives and picked up a good victory on Tuesday night. Despite that, we are on a good run ourselves and are in very buoyant mood."