Bristol Rovers 1-1 Exeter City: Player ratings, MOTM, heroes & villains as Gas have to settle for point

Bristol Rovers had to settle for a point as they held promotion chasing Exeter City to a 1-1 draw at a sold out Memorial Stadium .

Luca Hoole opened his account for the Gas in the first half but Jevani Brown netted a response 15 minutes later to get the Grecians back into the match.

Both sides had opportunities to go in front but Joey Barton will be the happier of the two managers given how Exeter threatened in the second half.

The draw sees them drop a place to 10th in the Sky Bet League Two table with the gap widened from three points to four.

Tale of the game

Rovers were unchanged from their late rejig at Leyton Orient with Harry Anderson filling in at left-back but Antony Evans was moved into the centre and Elliot Anderson deployed as a winger.

Before a ball had been kicked there was a real buzz around the stadium and just minutes before kick-off it was confirmed that every seat and standing spot had been sold.

An early flash point came when the home side thought they should have had a penalty as Aaron Collins touched on an effort into the body of Josh Key.

Rovers seized an early initiative and took the lead in fortuitous fashion as from the near post a Luca Hoole shot hit the post and cannoned off the goalkeeper Cameron Dawson.

In search of a response, Josh Key had the ball threaded through to him by Sam Nombe but James Belshaw came out in enough time to claim the ball from his feet.

After a few ventures into Belshaw’s box, Exeter eventually got their equaliser after the hosts failed to clear their line. Jevani Brown found enough space for himself to lift the ball into the top corner.

Brown’s goal took the wind out of Rovers’ sails with a few frustrating moments where simple passes weren’t completed.

They did though have a chance hooked off the line as Hoole in search of his second goal of the match directed a shot in a crowded penalty box but Nombe made a telling block on the line.

The match was played at a non-stop pace and one player needing to put his authority on the game was Elliot Anderson, who drove a shot at Dawson.

As the first-half drew near to its conclusion, Rovers finished on the front foot with Exeter having to cope with a number of crosses from Evans, but they coped well with the threat.

They started on the front foot in the early knockings of the second period and carved a good opportunity as Anderson’s pass sliced through the defence to find Nicholson but his narrow-angled attempt was saved.

After a period where both teams found it hard to carve out any opportunities, Exeter almost took hold of the match as their captain Matt Jay laced a shot just past the post. Another chance then followed as Archie Collins laid the ball out to him with Belshaw alert to the shot.

The pressure from the away side continued to follow and from the edge of the box, Brown hit the upright. Rovers had almost been consigned to accepting a point given how much threat Exeter posed with Paul Coutts having to make a telling tackle on Key.

They very nearly fell behind in the first of seven additional minutes, the ball was worked well to Josh Coley to shoot but he dragged his shot wide. In the last action of the half, Kieran Phillips headed wide from a free-kick with the referee’s full-time whistle coming as a relief to a majority in the ground.

Heroes

The Gasheads: The Rovers fans knew the importance of the match and fair play to them, they packed out the stadium to give an impressive attendance of 9689. Even before the match had started, the fans were building up a good atmosphere.

Luca Hoole: The club interviewed the Welshman in the week and said the only thing missing was a goal. Hoole now has a goal to his name in the colours of the club he’s been at as a young teenager.

It tops off a great few weeks for Hoole who has cemented himself in the backline and has now improved in the attacking part of his game.

Villains

Exeter’s mind games: Rovers usually shoot towards the Thatchers Terrace in the second-half but after winning the head toss, Exeter opted to allow the home side to take kick-off first but choose ends.

Fans do play a big part and given that is the stand that houses the most vocal set of fans in the ground, there may have been some research into it before kick-off.

Peter Wright: The referee was not favourable at all to Rovers, having missed a handball by Jonathan Grounds, which would have given the hosts a chance in a good area. There were a few moments too where players would try to break on the counter-attack and have their shirt pulled but he would turn a blind eye. It was also questionable for Rovers to have to throw the ball back after Cheick Diabate had kicked the ball out, having been unchallenged.

Jevani Brown: A villain for Rovers but a hero for Exeter. He was their best threat today and had his second-half effort gone the other side of the post then it would have been a strike worthy of winning any game.

Player ratings

Bristol Rovers (4-2-3-1): James Belshaw 7, Luca Hoole 8, James Connolly 7 Connor Taylor 6, Harry Anderson 7; Paul Coutts 7, Sam Finley 6 (Ryan Loft 6, 46); Antony Evans 7, Elliot Anderson 6, Sam Nicholso 6 (Glenn Whelan, 94), Aaron Collins 7 (Luke Thomas, 76)

Exeter City (3-4-2-1): Cameron Dawson 5, Josh Key 6, Pierce Sweeney 7, Sam Stubbs 7, Cheick Diabate 6 (Jonathan Grounds, 55),Jake Caprice 6, Archie Collins 7, Timothee Dieng 7, Matt Jay 7, Jevani Brown 8 (Josh Coley, 85), Sam Nombe 7 (Kieran Phillips, 68).

Man of the Match

Luca Hoole. He was voted as the Player of the Match by the sponsors, so here’s no disagreement here. Got his goal and did well on is side giv

What’s next?

It’s another home game for Bristol Rovers on Tuesday when they welcome Barrow to the Memorial Stadium. There’s no midweek match for Exeter but they are in action on Friday night against Mansfield.