Low on Gas

By: Andrew Doherty
Date: 21/02/2026

WE'D just come off the glory of beating Manchester United when we were mugged to the tune of a 0 - 1 home defeat to Bristol Rovers, who lived up to their nickname The Pirates. Today was the reverse fixture.

Apart from this result Rovers, who are more commonly known as the Gas by virtue of the gas works near to their original ground, have had a disappointing season, languishing at the bottom end. More recently Steve Evans became their manager, new players have come in and things initially picked up, including a critical win in the derby with relegation rivals Newport. But three consecutive defeats since then have taken them perilously close to relegation. It's hard to imagine they wouldn't be up for a fight with Evans in charge.

The recent spell of damp weather continued. For the second away game running I walked in with an umbrella. Good job it wasn't Stevenage where I was once subject to interrogation for having a pen. But then as we know the pen is mightier than the umbrella. The area surrounding the ground was as bleak as the weather. Leaving was the most attractive option. But first football.

Starting for Town, in their cream kit today, were: Smith - Rodgers, Lavelle, McJannet, Staunton - McEachren - Kabia, Green, Walker, Vernam - Cook. Rovers wore their smart traditional blue and white quarters. 7,719 spectators were at the Memorial Stadium today. The game started. Within a minute Rovers won a free kick. The ball came into the box. The clearance by Staunton was weak. Balmer saw his opportunity and volleyed the ball past the helpless Smith. Gas 1,Town 0. A Vernam cross earned Town a corner. 6 minutes had gone. Rovers attacked quickly. McJannet, on his back foot, struggled to clear with a header and directed it to a Rovers player. The ball was put out to Akhamrich on the left. Akhamrich passed to Quigley who slotted the ball home. Too easy. Gas 2,Town 0. Vernam managed a shot on target, albeit a poor one, on 9 minutes but Rovers were soon up the field again and won a free kick on the edge of Town's box after a foul by McEachren. Fortunately De Havilland drilled his shot into the wall. There was a further scare on 12 minutes when Smith failed to control a back pass from McJannet. Town had a moment of hope on 14 minutes when a cross from Vernam rebounded off the inside of the post. The game stopped on 18 minutes when Kabia suffered an arm injury. Chance for Town to regroup? It didn't happen. Green and Vernam contrived to lose possession as Town fumbled. Rovers looked sharp going forward. On 26 minutes good control by Cook led to a cross for Kabia before Rodgers won a corner. But Rovers had the clearer chances. On 30 minutes De Havilland found Quigley on the left. Quigley took too much time to gain control and spurned the good opportunity. Town's distribution continued to be poor. But on 37 minutes the ball was worked forward. Vernam received the ball on the left and crossed to Cook who had his back to the goal. Cook turned as Cook does and slammed the ball low into the right corner. Town 1, Gas 2. Town were back in it and finally started to play Rodgers combined with Vernam who crossed to Cook in the box. Cook fell over but a free kick was given to Rovers. Town were now starting to cause problems. As 4 minutes were added, Mola received a yellow card for hacking down Kabia. The rain lashed down. Town put together a lovely move, ending with Rodgers slotting the ball through to Walker who from an angle hit a well-struck shot, forcing a good save from Young. The half ended: Town 1, Gas 2. While the end of the half had been better for Town, our overall quality of play had been poor. It was reminiscent of the Walsall game where Walsall controlled the ball well in difficult conditions in the first half while we seemed unable to settle. But thanks to Cook's goal, we were very much back in this game.

Town showed plenty of energy as the second half began but once again Town's touch and final ball were dreadful. McEachren, Green and Vernam were all guilty. Although Town won a corner on 60 minutes which was cleared, we were creating no chances. Rovers once again looked sharper but without troubling Smith. On 63 minutes Rovers attacked. Quigley received the ball on the left byline and passed the ball across to Akhamrich who found space and struck a low shot into the left corner. Gas 3,Town 1. Shortly after this McJannet saved the day after a Staunton slip had let the dangerous Akhamrich in. Moments later on 68 minutes Burns replaced McJannet as Town looked for some attacking impetus. McJannet's long passes had been poorly directed so it was to be hoped that there would be an improvement. Yet it was still Rovers who looked like scoring. A great cross from Thomas almost allowed Omochere in but Town's defence did enough to put him off his stride. Conditions were slippery and Rovers were living up to their reputation of being physical, boasting the second worst record in the division for fouls conceded. Smallwood was booked for a flying tackle on Walker. Burns was dispossessed on the right before Cook misplaced a pass as Town provided more evidence of being off the pace today. On 75 minutes Rovers attacked. Akhamrich won a corner. Vernam gave the ball away, resulting in Senior running clear and winning another corner for the home team. It was frustrating to watch as a Town fan. We continued to make mistakes, we're constantly second to the ball and applied no pressure on the Rovers defence. On 78 minutes Turi and Amaluzor replaced Green and Walker. McEachren found Vernam with a neat pass. Young punched Vernam's shot clear more dramatically than was necessary. On 81 minutes Town win a free kick on the left. Lavelle got a good head on it but it sailed well wide. Both teams battled. But there had been no sustained spell where Town had been in charge. Amaluzor chased down the ball and earned Town a territorial advantage. But Rodgers lost the ball. McEachren regained it. Kabia then fought to win a corner. Cook got a head on the cross and Young dived low to make a good save. It wouldn't have counted anyway as a foul was given but this was Town's first attempt on target this half. We were in the 88th minute. Sellars-Fleming replaced Vernam, which seemed a bit pointless as with the cold and rain players needed time to attune themselves to these conditions. Five minutes were added. Rovers sought to extend their lead. Cavegn moved in on goal. Omochere was on hand and it was only Smith's alertness which prevented a goal. Smith came to the rescue again, sending Cavegn out wide to narrow the angle. Town won a free kick on 94 minutes which led to a Cook header but it was soft and easy for Young. Town were second best today and it was a relief when the referee blew the whistle for full time: Bristol Rovers 3, Grimsby Town 1.

It was cold, wet and miserable. Town weren't in it today. Our distribution and touches were poor. We had no sustained spell of attacking and even when we were behind, failed to step up and apply pressure. Bristol Rovers were first to the ball and sharper. We can't complain about the result and if we continue to perform like this we can forget our play-off ambitions. Bristol Rovers are The Gas. We need attention to our boiler.

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