THE GAME

A year on from a 3-3 draw and a defeat in a penalty shootout by the same opponents, Rovers drew 4-4 and won the resulting penalty shootout in a remarkable tie at The Memorial Stadium.

The game seemed to be lost after only 16 minutes as Spurs established a three goal lead and looked to be coasting to a comfortable win.

An early Ollie Dewsbury effort was cleared off the line before the Spurs goal blitz, but they took the lead through Tynan Thompson who hit a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Brad Young after taking a pass from Luca Williams-Barrett.

Williams-Barrett then scored himself, taking the ball around Young and slotting the ball into an empty net after being played in by Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny  and shortly afterwards Yusuf Akhamrich drove a shot past Young to make it 3-0.

A shell shocked Rovers gradually fought their way back into the game and a 35th minute substitution that saw Kamil Conteh replace Dan Ellison, was the starting point for a revival and they pulled a goal back just before the break through Ellis Harrison who fired a left foot effort high into the net to record his second goal at The Mem in successive matches.

The goalscorer was replaced at the start of the second half by Fabrizio Cavegn and scored Rovers second goal of the night on 54 minutes. When played in by Conteh, the recently arrived Swiss striker fired a shot past goalkeeper Archer.

Four minutes later, though, Spurs restored their two goal advantage when Thompson scored his second goal of the evening. However, there was more drama as Archer received a red card after he had rushed out of his area and brought down Ryan Howley.

Isaac Hutchinson despatched the resulting free kick past substitute keeper Aaron Maguire and then Cavegn helped himself to his second goal of the evening when he fired in from the edge of the area.

With the score tied at 4-4 at the end of 90 minutes the tie was decided on a penalty shootout.

Penalty Shootout

ROVERS                                               SPURS

Fabrizio Cavegn – scored                     Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny – missed

Luke Thomas – scored                         Ellis Lehane – scored

Isaac Hutchinson – scored                  Dante Cassanova – scored

Ryan Howley – missed                        Callum Olusesi – scored

Kamil Conteh – scored                        Yusuf Akhamrich – scored

Ollie Dewsbury – saved                      Calum Logan – saved

Taylor Moore – scored                       James Rowswell – saved

Rovers earn two points for their 5-4 penalty win while Spurs take a point for the draw.

WHAT THEY SAID

‘My immediate reaction is that I am really disappointed with the first half in particular. We have to start games of football miles better than that—we know that—and we have to show that as well. To take some positives from it, we showed a little bit of character to get back into it. Fabrizio coming off the bench and getting his first couple of goals is a couple of positives to spin from that. But we can’t start games of football like that, or as open as that, so we’re disappointed, and that needs to be addressed—and we’ll look to put that right.

‘In the second half you saw the intensity in the game. You see that the energy went up. You saw the spaces were smaller. Yes, we tweaked things a little bit tactically, but it was definitely more energy out there in the second half as well. They did grab the game by the scruff of the neck a little bit. So, you know, you should probably be in a little more of a positive frame of mind than that.

‘Bradley Young is a great character; he works really hard with James Bittner and Luke Southwood. They’re always pushing each other, so it was good to see him get that moment. I’m sure he might want one or two back in that game, but he’s a really strong character. I spoke to him just before the shootout—that they’re designed for moments to become a hero. He did with that save at the end.’ Rovers Assistant Head Coach Rhys Carr 

‘It’s nice to win on penalties but, ultimately, we’ve got to be better. We know that, as a group of players, that our general performance wasn’t good enough. We can’t concede four goals at home. Yes, it’s nice to score four goals and come back in that way, but we can’t start games in that way. It’s nowhere near good enough.

‘We’ve shown a bit of character to come back and give the fans an entertaining game. But ultimately, we’ve got to be better now.’ Rovers Goalkeeper Bradley Young

‘It was a hard game. When I came on, I felt we could change and turn the game. I feel there was a good feeling in the team, and I wanted to do my best. I had to come in with the score at 3-1 in favour of the other team, and I gave my best, and I had to turn the game around.

‘It was not the best game that we want. We want more and we have to do more, but we want to play, and we want to fight. When I scored my first goal it was a really good moment, and a few minutes later, the second one came. It’s a very good feeling, and for me, it’s very important for the next games.

‘The goal gives me a lot of confidence. If I score on the pitch, it pushes me to give more. It was very special to score because I have come here to score goals and to help the team, and I will do it in the next games. We are going to do everything in the next few days and will look to the next game on Saturday. We have to do more.’ Rovers striker Fabrizio Cavegn.