Southampton hero and tattoo artist - Whatever happened to the last Bristol Rovers team to play Crystal Palace - gallery

Bristol Rovers welcome Crystal Palace’s Under-21’s to the Memorial Stadium for an EFL Trophy match, in what is the first competitive meeting in over 15 years.

Not since August 1, 2007, have the Eagles and the Gas played each other, but the English Football League’s secondary cup competition opens up the opportunity of a reunion.

Rovers - then in League One - claimed an unlikely victory over the South London side, winning 4-1 on penalties, against a team that were a tier above them.

Dougie Freedman put Palace ahead just after the hour mark but Rovers got back on level terms as Craig Disley danced past the defence to make it a goal apiece.

A crowd of 5,556 watched on the lottery of penalties with Paul Trollope’s men keeping their cool whilst Peter Taylor’s side buckled under the pressure, scoring just once.

Richard Walker, Joe Jacobson, Craig Disley and Byron Anthony scored their spot-kicks but it was Shefki Kuqi's penalty that cannoned off the crossbar and Freedman's penalty that Steve Phillips saved that saw Rovers claim an upset.

As a reward, they were handed a home tie to Premier League outfit West Ham United, but lost narrowly with a first-half brace from Craig Bellamy knocking the men from the West Country out.

Both sides would have memorable seasons outside of the League Cup with Rovers reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, whilst Palace finished in the top six under new-boss Neil Warnock, but suffered the same fate they had earlier in the season, losing in Bristol, this time to Bristol City in the Championship play-offs.

Rovers’ side had a few interesting names in their side when they toppled Palace, so here is what happened next for the Cup heroes of that 2007/2008 season.