Preview: Bristol Rovers v Fleetwood Town

11 November 2022

Fleetwood Town are set to face Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday 12 November, and we have all the information you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off in our match preview.

Fixture: Bristol Rovers v Fleetwood Town

Competition: Sky Bet League One

Date: Saturday 12 November 2022

Kick-off: 15:00

Venue: Memorial Stadium, Filton Avenue Horfield, Bristol, BS7 0BF

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FLEETWOOD TOWN

Town head into their away clash with the Gas in hot form as they are four games unbeaten in all competitions, with the last result being a 3-1 win over Oxford City last weekend which secured a spot in the Second Round of the Emirates FA Cup for the Cods.

The team who are sat in 15^th in the League One table comfortably cruised past non-league Oxford on their home turf as Lewis Warrington netted his first for the club to open the scoring, and it was one to remember as he struck it perfectly into the top corner from range before Paddy Lane bagged a second-half brace, with his second going in directly from a corner kick.

In the three games before that, Town picked up five points from Forest Green Rovers, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Accrington Stanley, which was a brilliant 3-0 win, and Oxford United, which also ended in an unfortunate 1-1 draw but this time away from home.

BRISTOL ROVERS

In pre-match press, assistant head coach Steven Whittaker said that he expects a tough game against Rovers and one person to watch out for is October’s Player of the Month award winner Aaron Collins who currently sits on nine goals for the season after 21 games.

However, he wasn’t the player who found the net in their FA Cup triumph earlier this month as it was experienced professional Scott Sinclair who got the all-important goal in the 1-0 win over League Two side Rochdale at the Memorial Stadium, which was also his first for the club since joining last month.

The game before that saw six goals, but it was in favour of the home side on the day as the Gas lost 4-2 to Derby County on the day at Pride Park. Even though Bobby Thomas and Anthony Evans both found the back of the net, it was a David McGoldrick masterclass as he netted a hat-trick, with James Collins also getting on the score sheet early in the clash.

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WHAT STEVEN WHITTAKER SAID AHEAD OF THE GAME

Assistant head coach Steven Whittaker spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's Sky Bet League One match away at Bristol Rovers – here’s what he had to say.

“Against Bristol, it’s going to be a tough game. They’re going to be up for the game and we need to try and stifle that and stay in the game and then put out stamp on the game as well but for us, we’ve been in every game and hasn’t been one where we’ve been defeated heavily, it’s just by the one goal and we know we can go there and grind out a game and we also have the quality to hurt them. Each game is different and we’re looking forward to it.

“We know Bristol Rovers will want to start off fast, they’re a high-energy team and they have good players at the top end of the pitch and have players who have scored goals, so we need to guard against that. We are expecting a tough one, but hopefully, things can go our way. For us, it’s another challenge and it’s important we focus on us, so we have a plan in place."

TICKET INFORMATION UPDATES

The Cod Army have been allocated tickets in the Brunel South Stand (seating) with tickets priced at the following:

Adults: £15, Seniors (65+): £5, 16-21 year-olds: £5, Under-16s: £5, Under-11s: £1

Tickets go off sale from our ticket office at 4:30pm on Friday 11 November, but supporters can purchase tickets on the day from the Away booth which is situated by the away turnstiles (card only).

COACH AND TRAVEL INFORMATION

If you require coach travel, our official coaches will be departing Highbury Stadium at 8am on the day of the game, costing only £5 for all Onward Card Holders and £25 for Non-Onward Card Holders.

If you would like to purchase an Onward Card to watch Fleetwood Town and get £5 away travel for the rest of the season, click HERE! If you would like to call the Ticket Office for more details, please call us on 01253 775080.

IFOLLOW INFORMATION FOR THE CLASH

On the day of the game, there will be two matchday packages available for our UK-based and overseas supporters:

Audio Match Pass - £2.50 (U.K based)

Video Match Pass - £10.00 (Overseas)

Those who choose the Audio Match Pass option will get access to just the commentary, which will be provided by our partners, BBC Radio Lancashire.

Season passes are available for both overseas and for all UK-based members of the Cod Army! You can find more details by heading over to our iFollow page.

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Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Last minute goal from Rooney secures a point on the road for Town

12 November 2022

Fleetwood Town battled until the end and came away with a point after their 2-2 draw with Bristol Rovers on Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Stadium.

The lead was secured by Fleetwood early on via Shaun Rooney and looked favourites to add another before the break.

Two second-half goals from Josh Coburn and Aaron Collins respectively looked to have secured all three points for the hosts, but Rooney rose up again and nodded home seconds from time.

Town started the game as the better side with the first chance coming just three minutes in as Brendan Wiredu controlled the ball around the edge of the Gas’ area before picking out Carlos Mendes Gomes, whose effort went high and wide of the target.

A player who had a great start to the clash was Rooney, who saw an early effort be blocked by Lewis Gibson, but then managed to open the scoring 13 minutes in as he calmly took the ball past a man in the box and slotted it into the bottom left corner of James Belshaw’s goal.

The pressure carried on from the front as Scott Brown’s men looked to double their lead with Danny Andrew aiming a free-kick on target from 25-yards, troubling the goalkeeper, with Wiredu having another effort on goal four minutes later which went just wide of the far post.

Soon after, Jay Lynch was called into action for the first time in the game as former-Cod Jordan Rossiter was played in 18-yards out and tried to slot the ball into the corner, past the diving goalkeeper, but our number 13 did enough to push the ball wide before clearing.

The hosts had another chance with not long to go until the break as a free-kick was played in from the right, where another former-Cod Lewis Gibson rose highest to nod the ball towards goal, but the effort flew over the bar and out for a goal kick.

There was time for one final chance before the break and it fell to the Cods as good play from Rooney, Wiredu, and Mendes Gomes leads to the ball being played to the feet of Andrew, who tricks his way past two but fires high and wide.

It was a quick start to the second half as the hosts almost levelled things up as Collins stormed through on goal but fired wide of the target after Lynch made himself big. Not long after, Warrington whipped a free-kick in towards Baker who, unfortunately, couldn’t quite get enough on his header to trouble the goalkeeper.

Rovers squared everything up just around the hour mark as Coburn worked well with Collins to break through the Town backline, with the former finding the back of the net. They had a chance to take the lead a couple of minutes later through a Collins strike, but his chipped effort landed on the roof of the net.

With 10 minutes to go, the hosts took the lead, and it was Collins who scored the goal. Former-Cod Sam Finley played a deep cross into the box, which Rovers’ forward managed to get his head on as he guided the ball into the far corner, past a diving Lynch.

It was pandemonium at the end as Town brought it back to level terms just before the end as Andrew played in dangerous cross into a packed area, where Rooney kept his cool and nodded into the side-netting.

Gas XI: Belshaw (GK), Gordon, Finley (C), Sinclair (Hoole 86'), Collins (Marquis 89'), Rossiter, Gibson, Evans, Gibbons (Connolly 46’), Thomas, Coburn (Saunders 90+4').

Unused subs: Jaakola (GK), Clarke, McCormick.

Town XI: Lynch (GK), Andrew, Wiredu (Batty 72'), Mendes Gomes (Lane 87'), Vela (C), Morton (Omochere 72'), Warrington (J.Garner 87'), Nsiala, Rooney, Earl, Baker (Holgate 65’).

Unused subs: Stolarczyk (GK), G.Garner.

Attendance: 8,829 (210 away)