Exeter City 1
Dunne (90)

Bristol Rovers 0

Rovers slipped to defeat at Exeter tonight, beaten by James Dunne's last minute header from Ryan Harley's corner.

Having looked comfortable in the opening period, Rovers were totally dominant after the break and should have had the game won before Dunne's goal.

As it is, they return home empty handed and have to regroup before facing another local match, against Yeovil Town, on Saturday.

Manager Paul Trollope was able to select an unchanged lineup for the third consecutive game.

Byron Anthony who was stretchered off just before half time on Saturday, had recovered from the knock he took on his leg and took his place at right back.

The only change in his squad was on the bench, where Carl Regan came in for Wayne Brown who has been recalled by Fulham.

Of the 19 players who have travelled, Charlie Clough was the one to miss out on selection this evening.

The opening exchanges were played at a high tempo but it was the tenth minute before either keeper was called into action.

At that point we saw Mikkel Andersen rush to the edge of the area to smother the ball at the feet of Adam Stansfield. Two minutes later the keeper watched as Ryan Harley's twenty yard free kick flew wide of the upright.

Stansfield might have done better with a cross from the left just after the quarter of an hour mark but as he pulled away from his marker he could only sidefoot a tame effort wide from George Friend's cross.

Rovers almost took the lead in sensational fashion on 21 minutes when, from all of forty yards, Byron Anthony let fly with a shot that swerved and dipped on its way to goal.

Goalkeeper Paul Jones completely misjudged the flight of the ball and was a relieved man when he saw it hit the crossbar before being hacked away to safety.

Paul Heffernan was denied a shooting opportunity by Matt Taylor's timely challenge four minutes before the break, but both defences were on top and chances had been few and far between in an entertaining opening period.

Rovers seemed to step up a gear after the break and Heffernan saw his shot on the run blocked by Richard Duffy while a Danny Coles shot across goal sailed just past the far post.

At the other end Andersen touched a shot from Tully over the bar, but Rovers were soon on the offensive again and Jo Kuffour was unfortunate when his shot bobbled in front of Jones and the keeper managed to touch the ball out for a corner.

Stuart Campbell fired wide of the target before Exeter hit back through George Friend and Harley, who both hit efforts wide of the mark.

A Heffernan effort hit the legs of defender Taylor before being cleared, Andy Williams hit one shot wide of the far post and saw another one blocked and the substitute then saw his cross from the right drop just behind Kuffour.

Just when it seemed they would gain at least a point, though, Exeter scored from that last gasp corner to dampen the spirits of the 961 travelling Gasheads.

Team Mikkel Andersen, Byron Anthony, Danny Coles, Steve Elliott, Daniel Jones, Dominic Blizzard, Chris Lines, Stuart Campbell, Jeff Hughes (Andy Williams, 74), Paul Heffernan, Jo Kuffour

Substitutes: Carl Regan, Mark Wright, Charlie Reece, Ben Swallow, Eliot Richards, Rhys Evans

Yellow cards - Anthony, Blizzard

Exeter City: Paul Jones, Steve Tully (Jo Burnell, 83), Richard Duffy, Matt Taylor, Rob Edwards, George Friend, Ryan Harley, James Dunne, Liam Sercombe, Marcus Stewart (Richard Logan, 69),  Adam Stansfield (Marcus Haber, 87)

Substitutes Andy Marriott, Scott Golbourne, Bertie Cozic, Neil Saunders

Yellow card - Duffy
Attendance: 5,269
Rovers fans: 961
Referee: Andy Hall