On the last day of August 2024 Bristol Rovers hosted Cambridge United in a League One fixture and, thanks to a double strike by Promise Omochere won by two goals to nil.
The summer signing struck in the 30th and 48th minutes and Rovers fans in the crowd of 7,893 were hoping that a month that had yielded seven points from four league games might prove to be a sign that the season would be spent battling for at least a top ten spot.
Sadly, those hopes have long been dashed and here we are, facing our second league game of 2025, looking to take three more points off of Cambridge, one of only four clubs below us, to begin a long climb away from the lower reaches of the league.
This Saturday, at The Abbey Stadium (or whatever it’s called these days!) Rovers and Cambridge do battle for the 36th time in the league.
Rovers have a distinct advantage when you look at the previous 35 meetings as they have won 19 while Cambridge have won on eight occasions and there have been eight draws. When it comes to goals, Rovers have scored 52 and Cambridge 41.
As far as managerial connections are concerned, then Ian Atkins has been in charge at both clubs; he was Cambridge manager from December 1992 – July 1993 and also appeared in two games for the U’s.
He officially joined Rovers as manager in time for the final league game of the 2003/04 campaign, but his stay in Bristol was relatively short and he left the Memorial Stadium in September 2005
Striker John Taylor enjoyed two spells as a player with Cambridge and moved to Rovers in a deal that saw Devon White move to the Abbey Stadium. He appeared in 243 league games for the U’s and 95 for Rovers. He went on to manage Cambridge, from November 2001 – March 2004.
Joe Dunne was both assistant manager and then manager of Cambridge from 2015 – December 2018. He later assisted Graham Coughlan here at Rovers and had one game in charge as caretaker manager, an FA Cup tie down at Plymouth.
In addition to Taylor and White, the following players have also turned out for both clubs; Victor Adeboyejo, Wayne Andrews, Kevin Austin, Nathan Blissett, Hiram Boateng, Jevani Brown, Adam Cunnington, Ian Davies, Jermaine Easter, Rory Gaffney, James Gibbons, Jake Gosling, Matt Harrold, Scott Howie, Reggie Lambe, Scott McGleish, Harry Pell, Paul Raynor, Scott Rendell, David Rushbury, Adam Smith, Matt Somner, Ciaran Toner, Robbie Turner, John Vaughan, Richard Walker, Elliott Ward, Callum Willock and Rob Wolleaston.
Andrews made just two league appearances for Cambridge early in his career and arrived in BS7 in March 2008. However, in his first game for Rovers, down at Yeovil, he damaged his knee ligaments early on in the game and didn’t play again for the club.
Blissett appeared in the Conference for Cambridge after joining them on loan in 2013, appearing in seven games whilst at the Abbey Stadium. Rovers were also a Conference side when he joined us in November 2014, and he scored five goals in 22 games. His league career with Rovers, following promotion via the play offs in 2015, comprised of just two substitute appearances.
Boateng, currently playing for Mansfield Town, joined Rovers on loan from Crystal Palace in August 2016 but moved on after just nine league appearances. He made 25 appearances for Cambridge in the 2020/21 campaign.
Gaffney was a popular player with Rovers fans and first joined the club on loan from Cambridge in November 2015. He later signed a permanent deal with the us and he made exactly 100 league appearances for Rovers, scoring 21 goals. His Cambridge record was two goals in six appearances.
Players who have made their Rovers league debuts against Cambridge include; Shaun Penny (1979/80), Gareth Taylor (1991/92), Sonny Parker (2002/03), Shane Hobbs (2003/04), Josh Coburn (2022/23) and Gatlin O’Donkor and Lino Sousa (2024/25)
Penny’s first appearance in a Rovers shirt came in a 4-1 defeat at the Abbey Stadium in September 1979, while Taylor fared even worse on his Gas debut. The current manager of the Manchester City women’s side also made his Rovers league debut at the Abbey Stadium when he was in the side beaten 6-1 in February 1992.
Parker’s Rovers league debut also ended in defeat a 3-1 reverse at the Abbey Stadium in December 2002, while Hobbs made just two substitute league appearances for Rovers, the first of which came against Cambridge, a 2-0 defeat at the Memorial Stadium in October 2003.
Coburn was on loan from Middlesbrough when he first appeared in a Rovers shirt and he made a goalscoring debut in a 2-1 Rovers win at the Abbey Stadium in October 2022 while O’Donkor and Sousa made their Gas debuts in this season’s fixture at The Mem which is referred to in the opening paragraph.
This is a crucial game for both clubs, who head into the fixture looking for three points in order to climb away from the lower reaches of the league.
Both suffered home defeats on New Year’s Day; Rovers, as we know, lost 3-2 to Leyton Orient while Cambridge were beaten 3-1 by Reading.
Those results see Rovers in 20th place in the league standings, with 22 points from 23 games and Cambridge in 23rd place with 17 points from their 23 games.
There was some improvement in Rovers performance against Orient, but only in short bursts over the course of the 90 minutes. If the form shown in the final ten minutes can be replicated over the whole game, then there’s an opportunity of gaining points from the long trip to The Abbey Stadium.
We also need a leader out on the pitch to help the younger players in the squad, someone in the mould of Sam Finley, Paul Coutts or Tony Craig. Even if they weren’t playing well themselves, they got the best out of the players around them. Maybe, just maybe, this transfer window will see us sign a natural leader!
In the meantime, we wish all travelling supporters a safe journey.