Match Preview - Forest Green v Rovers

26 November 2021

Rovers make the 20 mile journey to The New Lane Stadium this weekend to take on league leaders, Forest Green Rovers.

Off the back of an 1-1 draw against Salford City last time out means the Gas are now four games unbeaten in the league. Our opponents this weekend sit at the summit of League Two after 17 games. In their previous game, Forest Green Rovers claimed victory at home against Barrow, winning by a margin of two goals to nil.

Manager's Preview

Manager Joey Barton spoke with the local press on Thursday morning to detail what he expects from Saturday's encounter with the league leaders.

Speaking about facing the early pacesetters in the division, the Rovers Manager said, "We’ve done well against teams that have been at the top end, but we haven’t gone and played the top team.

"You’ve got to look at the top team in the division and it’s a lot easier chasing down a team at the top than it is sitting at the top.

"I would want to be on top in March, April, May, but credit to Forest Green. They are top of the table and they are there justifiably.

It’s up to the rest of the division to knock them off that perch and we get an opportunity to do that on Saturday."

Opposition View

Speaking to fgr.co.uk, Forest Green Manager, Rob Edwards has said that his team will go out to put on a performance against the Gas this weekend,

“Tuesday night was a really good result - it was great to be back in front of the fans; I thought in the second half we performed better as a group and the fans certainly bounced off that and I thought the atmosphere was really good in the second half.

“I don’t think there’s any worry that the atmosphere won’t be there on Saturday, with it being a derby game – Bristol Rovers are going to bring a lot of fans as well, it should be a really good atmosphere. We want to try and put on a performance to try and get everyone going.”

Form Guide

Forest Green's early season form has seen them assemble a five-point lead at the summit of Sky Bet League Two, with a game in hand over the chasing pack of both Exeter and Northampton.

At the New Lawn, Forest Green have been beaten just twice this season - losing by a 2-0 scoreline to both Port Vale and Swindon Town. The defeat to Ben Garner's Robin's back at the start of October was their last defeat in the league and they head into Saturday's game on an unbeaten streak of 6 games in the league.

Matt Stevens leads the scoring charts for Saturday's opponents, with 10 goals so far this term. 9 of Stevens' goals this season have come from inside the penalty area, with four of his goals coming in set-piece scenarios.

Saturday's opponents average over 13 shots per game and a pass percentage of 73% (courtesy of Whoscored.com)

Ref Watch

Simon Mather is the official in charge of Saturday's game. Mather has officiated 16 games so far this term, handing out 71 yellow cards and 6 red cards. He took charge of the National League play-off final back in July 2020.

Betting Preview

EFL sponsors, Sky Bet have priced Rovers at 7/2 for the win on Saturday afternoon. On the goal-scorer markets, Sam Nicholson is priced at 17/2 to open the scoring on Saturday. Antony Evans can be back at 10/3 to score at any time in the match.

To bet with Sky Bet please click HERE. Please bet responsibly.

Supporter Info

We have sold out of our allocation of over 1,200 tickets for this fixture and no tickets will be available on the day for away fans. Saturday's opponents have relayed that any away supporters attempting to buy a ticket in the home areas will be ejected from the stadium.

Rovers will wear their home kit on Saturday.

Match Reports

Match Report - Forest Green Rovers 2-0 Rovers

27 November 2021

Rovers fall to defeat at the New Lawn.

The Gas were defeated by the League Two leaders after a Jamille Matt double in a game which saw the hosts go down to 10-men.

Rovers made two changes for the visit to Forest Green. Brett Pitman and Harry Anderson were the players to come into the starting XI with Sam Nicholson missing out and Aaron Collins dropping to the substitute's bench.

The game's first real chance fell to the hosts. After Josh Grant attempted to win the ball from Nicky Cadden with a sliding challenge, the attacker squirmed away from the Rovers defender and had his sight on goal but he was only able to fire his effort over Belshaw's goal.

The league leaders were causing danger in the Rovers box again minutes later. Cadden crossed the ball into the front post where Matty Stevens' half volley was well saved by the legs of Belshaw.

The host's early pressure in the game paid off in the 20th minute. Forest Green captain, Jamille Matt was played through on goal and was able to slot his low-effort through Belshaw's legs and into the net.

Forest Green pushed for a second and very nearly unlocked the Rovers' backline again. Stevens came close to adding to his earlier goal just before the half-hour mark. A cross sent in by Ben Stevenson found the head of the forward whose effort cannoned off the crossbar and out for a Rovers goal kick.

Rovers almost found their way back into the game through Connor Taylor. Antony Evans' corner kick found the centre-half whose efforts were twice beaten away by Luke McGee in the Forest Green goal.

As the half went on, Rovers pushed for an equaliser and looked to have a great chance to level the game through Evans who bore down on goal appearing to have beaten the Forest Green defenders only for Baily Cargill to put in a last-ditch challenge to deny the Rovers forward.

Rovers began the second half pushing got the equaliser. Paul Coutts and Nick Anderton had efforts blocked quickly after each other as the Gas looked to put the home side under pressure.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men shortly after the hour mark. Coutts sent a lofted pass over the FGR backline which Anderton latched onto forcing Udoka Godwin-Malife to bring the Rovers full-back to the ground as he raced into an attacking position and receive his marching orders from Referee, Simon Mather.

Forest Green came close to doubling their lead after a corner kick routine found the head of the substitute, Dan Sweeney who couldn't keep his effort on target. Jack Aitchison also came close to adding to the host's lead. Cadden played the ball across the goalmouth to find Aitchison who first-time shot was saved brilliantly by Belshaw.

Rovers made two substitutes to mix things up going into the last 20 minutes of the match. Former Forest Green Rovers player, Aaron Collins and Luke Thomas entered the fray as Joey Barton's side looked for a route back into the game.

FGR doubled their lead in the 78th minute through a Jamille Matt spot-kick. Evans was adjudged to have handled the ball while attempting to block a long-range effort. Matt made no mistake from the penalty spot and smashed the ball down the middle of the goal past Belshaw.

Evans came close to pulling one back for Rovers in the final minutes of regulation time. Evans' firm effort was parried away by McGee. Forest Green Rovers were able to see the game out and come away from the New Lawn with all three points.

Rovers face Sutton United in the Second Round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday, 4th December at the Mem. (3pm KO)

Forest Green Rovers: Luke McGee, Dom Bernard, Baily Cargill, Ben Stevenson, Ebou Adams, Matty Stevens (66'), Jack Aitchinson, Nicky Cadden, Jamille Matt (C), Jordon Moore-Taylor, Udoka Godwin-Malife.

Subs: Lewis Thomas, Dan Sweeney (66'), Jack Evans, Jake Young, Regan Hendry, Sadou Diallo, Josh March.

Rovers: James Belshaw, Josh Grant, Sam Finley, Paul Coutts (C), Nick Anderton, Connor Taylor, Harry Anderson (74'), Antony Evans, Cian Harries, Glenn Whelan (71'), Brett Pitman.

Subs: Jed Ward, Luke Thomas (74'), Zain Westbrooke, Aaron Collins (71'), Pablo Martinez, Trevor Clarke, Sion Spence.

Attendance: 4,128 (1,228 away)

Referee: Simon Mather