Bristol Rovers 0-0 Mansfield Town: Point apiece at the Memorial Stadium as Gas denied penalty

Bristol Rovers had to settle for a point as they played to a goalless draw with in-form Mansfield Town at the Memorial Stadium.

The Gas, who now haven’t won in three matches, had a few half opportunities as did the Stags but neither side could find a breakthrough in a game lacking any real potential match-winning moments.

Rovers did have a strong claim for a penalty in the second-half but the referee deemed that Aaron Collins had dived and as a result, he was booked.

The draw keeps Rovers in 14th with the gap still 10 points between them and seventh-placed Newport County who occupy the final play-off spot.

Mansfield Town registered the first shot on target with on-loan midfielder Matty Longstaff lacing a shot right at James Belshaw who dealt with it comfortably.

They were the team that acclimatised better to the blizzardy conditions with the ball sticking to their feet whilst for Rovers, their passes across the surface weren’t as straight forward.

The visitors carved another shooting opportunity but fortunately for the home side, Jamie Murphy couldn’t keep his shot down after the ball had fallen to him from a failed clearance.

After the first-half hour had elapsed, the game became quite a sloppy affair with both sides failing to muster up any clear cut chances. A corner-kick from Paul Coutts did find the free head of Connor Taylor but his attempt failed to test the goalkeeper.

Neither side made a notable attempt for the remainder of the first period and the two went into the dressing room with the score goalless in a fairly uneventful half.

There was already much more about Rovers in the opening few moments of the second-half with Harry Anderson sweeping a shot at Nathan Bishop.

Sam Nicholson then had claims for a penalty as he looked to fall backwards from Lucas Akins holding onto him as a throw-in came in.

The Scotsman, back in the side after his substitute appearance on Tuesday, then went near to scoring as he drilled a shot that went just yards away from the target.

Just after the game moved into the hour, Gas fans were incensed that a penalty wasn’t awarded their way. A long ball was chased down superbly by Aaron Collins , who skilfully made his way into the box and looked to have been tripped by John-Joe O’Toole.

After a spell of pressure from the side, the game fell flat with the tide turning once more to Mansfield who had some half chances on the counter-attack.

Neither side could threaten in the four minutes of additional time which left both managers having to accept a point. The home fans applauded their side for their efforts and seemed content when departing the stadium.

Bristol Rovers (4-2-3-1): James Belshaw, James Connolly, Sam Finley, Aaron Collins, Sam Nicholson, Elliot Anderson, Paul Coutts, Nick Anderton, Connor Taylor, Harry Anderson, Luca Hoole.

Yellow Cards: Sam Finley 32, Aaron Collins 63’

Mansfield Town (3-4-3): Nathan Bishop, Elliott Hewitt, John-Joe O’Toole, Oliver Hawkins, Jordan Bowery, Matty Longstaff, Ollie Clarke, Stephen Quinn (George Marris, 63), Jamie Murphy (Ryan Stirk, 90), Rhys Oates (Danny Johnson 71), Lucas Akins.

Yellow Cards: Stephen Quinn 52, John-Joe O’Toole 88, Matty Longstaff 92’

Man of the Match: Connor Taylor