Player ratings as wasteful Bristol Rovers draw with clinical Morecambe

Clinical finishing was the difference at the Memorial Stadium as Bristol Rovers came from behind twice to share the points with Morecambe despite having a plethora of chances to win the game.
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Goals from Jensen Weir and Keiran Phillips put Morecambe ahead before Ryan Loft and debutant Bobby Thomas equalised for the Gas and despite a frantic final ten - the game finished 2-2.

It was almost the perfect start for Bristol Rovers and Aaron Collins when the striker drove forward from deep and hit the post from 25 yards out inside the first 90 seconds.

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Collins wasn't finished there though, and a mix-up in the Morecambe defence allowed him to take the ball past Connor Ripley in the away goal, the keeper then looked to take him out however referee Dean Whitestone disagreed with the home protests.

It was the hosts that opened the scoring, as ten minutes in a short corner found Jensen Weir on his own on the edge of the box and curled the ball beautifully past a stunned James Belshaw. Rovers were too slow to get out and the visitors made them pay for it.

It was Collins once again 20 minutes in, when Sam Finley spun his man and played a great pass into the box however the Rovers number ten could only direct his shot past the post.

It was even just before the half-hour mark, when Ryan Loft found himself free at the back post after some good work from Collins, chopping past the defender and playing a tantalising ball through the Morecambe defence leaving Loft a tap in for his third in three games.

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Collins should’ve got his deserved goal when Sam Finley found him in behind and the 25-year-old stung the palms of Ripley before the rebound was blocked well by Farrend Rawson. He had all the time in the world in injury time after being picked out yet again by Finley, but his scuffed shot was the wrong side of the post keeping the scores level going into halftime.

Rovers dominated the start of the second half and yet found themself behind again when Kieran Phillips was played in behind and confidently swept the ball past Belshaw eight minutes into the half.

The Gas continued their second-half domination and this was rewarded when the ball fell to debutant Bobby Thomas from a corner, the centre-back poked in and evened the score again with ten minutes to go.

With that in mind, here are our player ratings from the entertaining draw.

James Belshaw - 7

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Belshaw could do nothing but watch as Weir spun the ball into the top corner however struggled with the wind in the first half. The shot-stopper looked to be slow to come out for the away side’s second but redeemed himself five minutes later when he flung himself across the goal, managing to get fingertips to the ball and keeping his side in it.

Lewis Gordon - 7 ( Trevor Clarke 70’)

Like Hoole, Gordon played wide and high although was also making underlapping runs on occasion with Sam Finley coming out to the left. Gordon relished his defensive role also

Alfie Kilgour - 7 (Sylvester Jasper 70’)

Kilgour regularly looked to bring the ball out of defence and look to be a vocal point in the back four. Like Thomas next to him he was dominant in the air. Although, he found himself out of position on the Morecambe counter-attack that led to their second and struggled to deal with Kieran Phillips’ pace throughout the second half.

Bobby Thomas - 8

The deadline day signing made his debut this afternoon and looked like a shrewd acquisition for the Gas, looked calm and composed on the ball and was great in winning the ball against the Morecambe aerial bombardment and it was his goal that got Rovers back into the game

Luca Hoole - 7

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The right-back played as more of a winger in the first half, providing an option out on the right however, lacked the edge to beat his man and get a cross in regularly.

Luca Hoole in action Luca Hoole in action
Luca Hoole in action

Sam Finley - 8 (Luke McCormick 61’)

Returning to the starting lineup after missing out a week ago versus Shrewsbury, Finley was a bright spark in the midfield and could’ve had three assists in the first half if not for the lacklustre finishing of Collins. The midfielder was then substituted for the more attacking Luke McCormick after 61 minutes after struggling with injury problems in recent weeks.

Paul Coutts - 7 (Harry Anderson 70’)

Joining Finley in the centre of midfield, Coutts marshalled the centre of the pitch excellently allowing his midfield partner to roam forward and create.

Antony Evans - 6

Evans is yet to rekindle his form from last season, and failed to impact the game in any real way. The midfielders set pieces were also more often than not wayward, despite this one of them did manage to drop to Bobby Thomas and the centre-back poked in the equaliser.

Aaron Collins - 8

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The striker had a venomous effort strike the post in the first 90 seconds of the game and was the best player on the pitch in the first half, his good skill and pass put the ball on a plate for Loft to equalise. He could, and maybe should’ve had a first-half hattrick, hitting the post twice and seeing efforts saved by Ripley and blocked by Rawson. Collins failed to impact the second half though

John Marquis - 6 (Harvey Saunders 61’)

Marquis’ performance was perhaps overshadowed by strong showings from fellow attackers Collins and Loft and was substituted with just under half an hour to go, failing to make any real impact on the game.

Ryan Loft - 7

Following two goals in his last two games, Loft was given his second start of the season and had his third in three games when he poked the ball in at the back post for the Rovers equaliser. The striker put himself about and was a nuisance for the Morecambe defence throughout.

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