Rovers Fall To Worthy Grecians

Bristol Rovers tamely surrendered their four game unbeaten run with a lacklustre display in defeat to Exeter City at the Memorial Stadium.

The home side never settled into a rhythm and the final scoreline of 2-0, both goals coming from half time substitute Daniel Nardiello, was a fair reflection of the game. The closest Rovers came were when a Danny Coles header bounced off of the top of the visitors crossbar and Jo Kuffour having a close range effort saved by City keeper Ben Hamer.

There were three changes to the Rovers side that faced Bournemouth on Tuesday night, talismanic striker Will Hoskins missing out due to an ankle injury suffered in the previous game while player-manager Stuart Campbell kept himself in the dugout with a dead calf. Byron Anthony was set to continue in the left back spot but was forced to retire from the starting line up prior to the start of the game, Gary Sawyer retaking his place in the side.

Exeter came out playing with a 3-5-2 formation that included former Rovers striker Jamie Cureton starting up front and looked dangerous from the off.

Richard Logan, scorer of the Grecians winner against Dagenham on Saturday, hit a curling effort that bounced off of his namesake Conrad's crossbar.

Rovers first dangerous attempt on goal came from midfielder Gavin Williams. After some good interplay with Reggie Lambe around the edge of the area Williams hit a well struck shot that unfortunately went straight into the waiting hands of Ben Hamer.

But Exeter continued to run the game and Conrad Logan had to be in inspired form to keep the game level, flinging himself to his right to keep out a Jamie Cureton header from seven yards, pushing it away from his goal.

Hamer was then forced to get his sleeves dirty as he was forced into a diving save from a Reggie Lambe effort, but that was as good as it got for the Gas in the first half, and things soon got worse.

Danny Senda pulled up having injured his knee and was unable to continue, on loan defender David McCracken the man to replace him in the right full back spot.

Ryan Harley was Exeter's key man throughout the match, showing good touches, a great range of passing and taking some dangerous efforts on goal, including one at the start of the second half that made Conrad Logan get everything behind the ball, catching it comfortably.

Chris Lines tried to take the game to the opposition and sent two shots towards goal in quick succession, the first bobbling harmlessly wide when the midfielder was always off balance while the second went wide again, though it was hit with slightly more power than the first.

Jamie Cureton showed that even at age 35 he was still up to the task, shooting goalwards after a free kick wasn't fully cleared and forcing Gary Sawyer to clear the ball off of his own goal line.

Williams continued to threaten with his distance shooting, driving a fierce effort right across the face of Hamer's goal.

Then came the moment that had been so hyped in the build up to the game, Marcus Stewart's final appearance in professional football. The former Rovers fans favourite made his way onto the field for Richard Logan after 66 minutes to rapturous applause from both sets of fans and, after Kuffour took a lobbed attempt far too early, he made his mark on the game.

Harry Pell was harried within his own half and lost possession, the ball subsequently being played out wide and Ryan Harley's cross was diverted into the path of Daniel Nardiello by Stewart, Logan rushing off his line towards the experienced forward, leaving former Manchester United trainee Nardiello with the simple task of blasting the ball into an open net.

Rovers tried to get back on terms immediately, Chris Lines running goalwards straight from the kick off, eventually being squeezed off the ball by the Grecian defence.

A further foray forward earned the home side a corner, Gavin Williams sending the ball deep into the penalty area where he found the head of Danny Coles who looped a header towards Hamer's goal but, unfortunately for Rovers, it bounced off the top of the bar and over. That wasn't to be it for the Gas, though, as they then wasted their best chance of the game.

Wayne Brown got onto the end of a ball into the area, only to see his blocked shot fall to Jo Kuffour who, from no more than five yards out, had his attempted finish saved by Hamer who showed that, despite his lack of action, he was still ready to be called upon when required.

That would be it for the Gas and two minutes into the added five Ryan Harley played Nardiello through on goal, the striker taking the ball around the on-rushing Conrad Logan before slipping it coolly into the net to kill off the game.

Rovers looked totally out of sorts today, as they have for the previous two games, but individual mistakes as well as a lack of luck cost them dearly as they slipped down a place to 20th in the League 1 table.

After the match Rovers caretaker boss Stuart Campbell came out and spoke to the press about how the camp felt they let themselves down after the defeat, saying:

"We are disappointed with the performance and the result, but if I am honest, we got what we deserved today.

"I don't know what the problem was today, but it was the third game at the end of a long week.

"We have had two big performances from the lads, and today we looked a bit leggy, and we didn't look like the Bristol Rovers we have seen in the last six games.

"The atmosphere was great, the fans played their part, but unfortunately for whatever reason we didn't."

Here We Go Again

His legs are like jelly, his palms are sweaty and his throat is sore and then it comes, the deafness. But he doesn't care, he's not ill, he's just spent ninety minutes cheering, willing the Bristol Rovers side he holds so close to his heart to a nerve shredding victory over promotion chasing Bournemouth.

The deafness? That comes courtesy of six thousand fellow Rovers fans roaring as the final whistle goes at the Memorial Stadium, the loudest for many a season. Hope turns to relief, nerves turn to uncontrollable joy, Bristol Rovers turn from a side in the quagmire of the League 1 relegation zone to a team in the safe haven of nineteenth place. And there's no doubt that he'll be back to do it all again when Rovers face Exeter on Saturday.

That Bournemouth win came thanks to a Jeff Hughes penalty, that despite the visitors having far more of the game. It was the second game in a row that Rovers have been outplayed yet still managed to claim a victory and at this stage of the season it's not how you do it, as long as you get the result at the end of the day, a similar result against Exeter on Saturday would be welcomed with the same rapturous greeting as the end of the tussle with the Cherries.

It's been an inconsistent season for the Grecian's, half decent streaks often being tempered by a winless run but they still find themselves in tenth place in League 1, though being eight points behind Bournemouth means that a play off place is highly unlikely, just don't tell development coach Andy Tillson that;

"We are still playing for something as well, we trying to get in the play offs if possible and until its mathematically impossible then we will still play for that. We need to go out there and impress our fans and get as many points as we possibly can."

In their last six Exeter have won four and lost two, the two defeats coming in the middle of that run, three of those victories, however, have come at home. On the road they have won just once in their last four, suffering two heavy defeats at Peterborough (3-0) and Colchester (5-1). Interestingly Exeter's away record this term is the same as Rovers stats at home, won six, drawn five, lost nine, so this could be tighter than many think, especially with the Rovers squad being galvanised by the appointment of Stuart Campbell.

Under Dave Penney the Gas lost nine of thirteen games but Campbell has made a big difference both on and off the pitch. His new charges have won four of the six games since he took over, three of which came on the road and the last two in a row, a win over Yeovil preceding the Bournemouth triumph. Campbell's other two home games have finished with an undeserved loss to Huddersfield, two late goals being disallowed, and a fighting 2-2 draw against Peterborough, Will Hoskins and Jo Kuffour failing when one-on-one against Joe Lewis. With Rovers unbeaten in four and full of confidence the squad will be eager to get onto the pitch and pull themselves further away from the relegation zone.

Friday morning came the announcement from Exeter that this weekends game would mark the end of the playing career of Marcus Stewart. The Bristol born striker started his career with Rovers, scoring 79 goals in a five year stint including a goal at Wembley against Huddersfield, the side that he would go on to join. He moved to Ipswich where he scored nineteen in the 2000/01 season, finishing as the Premier League's second highest goalscorer, and subsequently joined Sunderland where he spent a further three seasons. Moves to Bristol City and Yeovil followed before he ended up at current club Exeter, scoring his 250th career goal against Carlisle in 2009.

Stewart has made 782 appearances in the professional game and, yet to score this season, would dearly love to go out with a bang against his former club, noting the significance of ending his career against Rovers, telling exetercityfc.co.uk:

"I thought it was a good thing to do at Rovers because I started off there and I finished there and it gives someone else an opportunity for the final five games."

He may not be a prolific goalscorer like Stewart but one of the Pirates in form players is right back Danny Senda. The former Southampton trainee played over 200 times for Wycombe before joining Millwall in 2006 and made 87 appearances for the Lions before a knee injury struck in the final game of the 2007/08 season. Senda would spend sixteen months recovering fully and was eventually released by Millwall in June 2009. After a year out of the game he would next join Torquay on a short term contract last September, making just three starts for the club before being let go, subsequently joining the Gas.


During his nine matches for his new club Senda has shown that he is not only solid defensively but also has ability further up the pitch, not afraid to overlap the midfielder ahead of him. He has quickly become a fans favourite for his 100% effort and exuberant celebrations whenever a teammate scores, Gasheads already calling on the club to offer him a permanent contract past the end of the season.

There has already been two games between the sides this season, both finishing 2-2. Will Hoskins has gotten onto the scoresheet in each of those games, netting his first goal for the club in August's league game. The second match of the season came in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and, after the two sides couldn't be separated after ninety minutes, Exeter went on to win on penalties, Byron Anthony missing the all important spot kick for Rovers, compounding an awful night that also saw the defender concede an own goal. Whichever side comes out with a win on Saturday will take the lead in the overall record between the clubs, each side having taken 25 wins in the 80 matches played, the other thirty finishing level.

In team news for the Gas Will Hoskins is out of the game with an ankle injury. It had been hoped that he would recover in time having taken the knock in Tuesday's game but it was to be too soon for him.

Gary Sawyer is in a similar situation having suffered a groin injury in training on Monday.

Exeter will be able to call on defenders Troy Archibald-Henville, who had been struggling with a knee injury, and Liam Sercombe as they recover from knocks.

Rovers assistant manager Craig Hinton is confident that the club can avoid the drop, talking about how the players are in a good mental state, he told bristolrovers.co.uk:

"I think the confidence is high at the moment, and I hope we can take that into Saturday.

"We have done part of the hard work, getting out of the bottom four, it is just staying out of that now. The lads are all positive and it is a big game on Saturday.

"Everyone knows that it is a big task still, and we need to keep going and stay together.

"I think we can play even better, I think we have the ability in the side to do that. As long as we keep the work rate, the enthusiasm and the togetherness that can only achieve greater things."

Former Rovers defender Andy Tillson, the clubs record £375,000 signing, previewed the game with exetercityfc.co.uk talking about how the game will be one to watch, saying:

"I am looking forward to it, they've done really well recently and we have a real job to do.

"You have to beat the teams down the bottom of the league, you can't go losing to them and beating sides at the top.

"It's a really good game to look forward to at this stage of the season and we have to make sure we make it hard for them.

"We will have a good following there being only an hour down the road, the atmosphere will be great, you are guaranteed that, and our fans were fantastic when we went up there earlier in the season.

"The Rovers fans will be right behind them whatever situation they are in and back them to the hilt."