Kevin Hodges has praised the contribution his more experienced players made to yesterday's reserve derby.

Bristol City were held to a 3-3 at Ashton Gate, in a contest that saw the visiting Pirates lead on three separate occasions.

The Robins eventually salvaged a draw through a last gasp leveller, but Kevin was very happy with the way his side performed against their City counterparts.

"It was a good game, and one where some exceptional quality was on show for a reserve match," Kevin told bristolrovers.co.uk, "It was a massive test for us because they had a very strong side out, but we also fielded a team with some decent experience in amongst it, and we competed well.

"Richard Walker, Andy Williams, Aaron Lescott and Craig Hinton all played, although despite that if you looked across their team then man-for-man they had a lot more experience than we did.

"We responded to the challenge though and did well. It was a local derby, and whatever level you play a local derby at, there is always pride and passion on the line and this was no different. No player wants to be on the end of a wrong result, and that was evident in the way the players approached the match.

"We created a lot of openings over the course of the night, and who knows, perhaps with a little bit more experience in the side we might have been able to capitalise. But we led them three times and on another day we might just have been able to do enough to see the match out.

"If I'm honest though I would say a draw was probably about right, but when you go ahead three times it is a little bit frustrating not to be able to come out with three points. But the players we've got coming through have proved they've got some real quality about them, and they're now showing that consistently at reserve level.

"In the majority of games the young lads have got to go out there and fend for themselves, but when you have four experienced players out there like we did yesterday then I think it helps greatly with their development.

"The experienced players that played applied themselves 110 per cent, and that doesn't always happen in reserve football. They did themselves credit and the club credit, and I think every player will have come out of the game feeling as though they benefited from it in some way.

"Having four senior players in the team was a good ratio, and although it's not always possible to have that many players like that involved in the reserves, it does benefit the younger lads when it can happen."