Sunday sees only the seventh league meeting between Bristol Rovers and Stevenage, and honours are even, as both sides have won two of the previous six game and there’s been two draws while in terms of goals Rovers have scored nine to the seven scored by Stevenage.
Rovers haven’t lost in three visits to Stevenage and last season recorded a 3-2 win after being 2-0 down at one point in the game. Goals from Luke Thomas, Chris Martin and Antony Evans gave Rovers all three points. We had won 4-0 there in 2021/22 and played out a goalless draw on our first visit on 19th April 2016.
Given that Stevenage have only been a Football League side since 2010, the list of those who have played for both is quite small, and also includes players who played for Stevenage when they were still a non league club.
That list includes; Harry Anderson, Chris Beardsley Andy Bond, Ryan Brunt, Max Ehmer, Giuliano Grazioli, Peter Hartley, Barry Hayles, Tom Hitchcock, David Francis Lee, Chris Lines, Ryan Loft, Jefferson Louis, Dave Martin, Joe Martin, Dwayne Plummer, Rob Quinn, Justin Richards, Simon Stapleton, Ed Upson and Callum Willock.
One man has managed both clubs, albeit for a very short time in each instance; Paul Tisdale arrived at the Memorial Stadium on 19th November 2020, succeeding Ben Garner as manager, only to depart on 10th February 2021 after just 15 games in charge.
He took over as Stevenage manager on 22nd November 2021 but, after only 21 games, including one against Rovers, he left them on 16th March 2022.
Lines and Upson were both in the Stevenage side beaten 4-0 by Rovers, when Tisdale was in charge, on 19th February 2022.
Anderson left Rovers in the summer of 2023 after two seasons at The Mem, during which time he scored six goals in 72 league games, and is now playing for Colchester United. while Bond appeared in just five league games for Rovers when on loan from Colchester United in 2013 and played 20 league games for Stevenage in 2014/15.
Hayles joined Rovers in the summer of 1997 from the team then known as Stevenage Borough, and Rovers played a friendly against them a year later as part of the transfer deal!
Grazioli was extremely popular in his one season at The Mem, but failed to win over manager Ray Graydon, in spite of scoring 11 goals in 34 league games. Like Hayles, he had previously played for Stevenage Borough, as had Dwayne Plummer who played in 35 league games for Rovers.
Martin (Joe) came to Rovers on loan from Stevenage during 2018/19. He then joined Blackpool before spending a second spell with Stevenage from January – May 2021.
Martin (Dave) appeared in 15 Conference games for Rovers, when on loan from Luton and he joined Stevenage in a permanent deal after leaving us, scoring once in ten league games.
Paris Cowan-Hall (2015/16) and Aaron Collins and Sam Finley (2021/22) all made their first Rovers league appearance against Stevenage.
Cowan-Hall made the first of his three league appearances for Rovers, against Stevenage, on 24th November 2015, while Collins and Finley both made their Rovers debuts on 14th August 2021 in a 2-0 home defeat by Stevenage on 14th August 2021.
This game, of course, will be the start of a new era for Rovers as Inigo Calderon takes charge of the side for the first time.
Having met many Rovers supporters before watching our 3-1 defeat at Exeter on Boxing Day, he will be keen to get off to a winning start. Given that he’s had just a few days on the training ground with the players, one wonders how many changes, if any, we might see to his first starting XI.
That defeat at Exeter leaves Rovers in 19th place, with 22 points from 21 games, while Stevenage, beaten 3-0 at home by Wycombe Wanderers on Boxing Day, are in 16th place with 26 points from 20 games.
We wish our new manager good luck in his first game in charge of our club and for the future and wish all travelling Gasheads a safe journey to Stevenage.
