Exeter City 5-3 Bristol Rovers: player ratings, MOTM, heroes & villains as Gas knocked out of EFL Trophy

Bristol Rovers were eliminated from the EFL Trophy as they were defeated 5-3 at St James Park by Exeter City.

The Gas fell two behind inside three minutes as Josh Coley and Timothée Dieng gave the Grecians a strong start.

Pádraig Amond inflicted further damage firstly by scoring in the 11th minute with a header before a strikers finish five minutes before half-time. Amond’s attacking partner Coley also brought a second from a counter-attacking move.

To give something for the contingent of away fans to cheer, Zain Westbrooke, Ryan Jones and Nick Anderton made it a respectable scoreline with three second-half goals.

It was a winner-takes-all match with Rovers in the driving seat before kick-off, but instead they dropped down to third place, with one win from an available three in the competition.

Tale of the match

Joey Barton completely changed his team from Sunday, making 11 changes from the draw against Oxford United with Zain Westbrooke captaining the side.

As of the nature of the competition, He handed first-team starts to Ryan Jones and Tyron Mbuenimo with the latter playing at full-back.

It was almost a case of deja-vu as Rovers fell behind in the first minute after some sloppy defensive work.

Nick Aderton’s attempted slide tackle cannoned off Kyle Taylor into the path of Josh Coley, who tucked it past Jed Ward.

If anything their start was worse as they fell further behind half-a-minute later. Dieng’s 25-yard strike looped over the beaten goalkeeper.

In the 11th minute, the much-changed Rovers defence conceded a third as Jake Caprice’s cross was headed in by Amond in a crowded penalty box.

The same pairing united once more as Caprice in a acres of space found Amond, who snuck it past Ward.

The naivety of the Rovers defence was proving costly as they conceded a fifth from their own corner. A mis-hit pass allowed Colley the freedom to run at goal and slot home.

In a quieter second-half in front for the hosts, they let slip of their clean sheet uncharacteristically with a defensive error. Appointed captain for this match, a loose ball fell to Westbrooke who placed his shot past Harry Lee.

Happy to stick with the squad which shipped five first-half goals, the 11 players gave him a further reaction as Jones netted his first senior goal. On the left-hand side against the experienced Sweeney, Jones brushed past him and dragged his shot in off the post.

Two minutes from time, the deficit was reduced to two as Jones’ corner was met by Anderton’s bullet header.

The heroes

Owura Edwards: Any Bristol City fans who took in this match will be happy that a Robins player was part of the downfall of Rovers in this match. Earning an assist for Dieng’s goal, Edwards was a handful for the defence and showed some neat feet.

Edwards was neat in his play with half of his attempted passes being accurate in addition to his assist.

Ryan Jones: It wasn’t the perfect night for the former Weston-super-Mare man, but he was one of the players who couldn’t be accused of a lack of effort.

In the first-half he found Collins with a good cross but unfortunately it wasn’t taken.

The 19-year-old is still waiting for his breakthrough in the league but a first goal, as well as an assist will give the coaching staff a reminder of his ability should his services be required.

Josh Coley: Two-goal hero Coley was instrumental in Exeter’s victory.

This is the 23-year-old’s first steps into professional football after joining from Maidenhead United in the summer.

In the 69 minutes he had on the field, he scored with the two shots presented to him, which showed his clinical edge.

Coley played 22 accurate passes out of the 28 he tried to make and also did his job as a winger with three crosses.

The villains

Aaron Collins: Unfortunately the wait for a Rovers goal goes on for the Welshman. He had a good chance to open his account after Ryan Jones found him in space, but he shot over the bar. Another chance fell to him in a trickier position as he headed over from a Tyron Mbuenimo cross.

Approaching first-half stoppage time, Mbuenimo found Collins once more, but the former Forest Green Rovers man dragged his shot the other side of the post.

Jed Ward: He wasn’t helped out by his defence, but the 18-year-old was unable to impose himself on the game, failing to deal with a lot of what Exeter offered. The second-goal perhaps could have been dealt with better.

Ultimately for a goalkeeper, it’s a case of keeping the shots out and he didn’t do that this evening.

Pierce Sweeney: His introduction for Sam Stubbs should have shored up the game but instead it had the opposite effect.

Not exactly a villain for Rovers, given two goals came at his watch, as well as a caution for a cynical foul.

Player ratings

Exeter City (4-5-1): Harry Lee 6, Jake Caprice 7, Jonathan Grounds 6, Sam Stubbs 6 (Pierce Sweeney, 46;), Jack Sparkes 7, Timothée Dieng 7, Kyle Taylor 7, (Sunny Cox, 51), Harry Kite 7, Owura Edwards 7, Josh Coley 8, (Colin Daniel, 68), Pádraig Amond 8.

Bristol Rovers (4-2-3-1): Jed Ward 5, Zain Westbrooke 7, Aaron Collins 6, Cameron Hargreaves 6, Nick Anderton 5, Pablo Martinez 5, Sion Spence 6, Zain Walker 5, Luca Hoole 5, Ryan Jones 7, Tyron Mbuenimo 6.

Man of the Match

Padraig Amond: On-loan Newport County striker Amond spoke of his desire to progress pre-match, as well as helping their younger players.

He led by example with his goals this evening, showcasing his ability to score at this level.

In the first-half, Amond had two shots and both resulted in goals, highlighting his striker’s instinct to score with the opportunities presented to him.

What’s next?

After extending their unbeaten run to 17 matches, the longest unbeaten streak in England right now, Exeter are at home again to face Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

Rovers return to the Mem where they take on automatic promotion hopefuls Northampton Town.