Bristol Rovers 2-0 Walsall
Sky Bet League Two, The Memorial Stadium, Tuesday 3 February 2026
Bristol Rovers secured consecutive Sky Bet League Two wins for the first time since September with a 2-0 win over promotion-chasing Walsall at The Memorial Stadium.
Kofi Balmer marked his first goal for the Gas in spectacular fashion, firing home a stunning volley just three minutes after fellow January signing Yusuf Akhamrich had calmly slipped the ball past Myles Roberts for his third goal in two matches.
Rovers were resolute throughout, with heroic blocks from Clinton Mola and Riley Harbottle drawing some of the loudest cheers of the night, while the visitors failed to capitalise on their spells of possession. Former Bristol City winger Albert Adomah posed a threat, creating several dangerous moments for Daniel Kanu, but the Gas defence stood firm.
The victory lifts Rovers up to 19th in the table and seven points clear of Newport County in the relegation zone.
Rovers started brightly, with Shaq Forde winning and driving the ball forward early in the game for his a shot on target outside the box, saved in the middle-left of goal.
Walsall then countered with a dangerous attack, where Mason Hancock’s cross-driven shot posed problems for Young, yet Adomah couldn’t convert the rebound after Young's parry away.
Forde continued to threaten on the break, with another dangerous situation and first of many physical battles with former Robin Aden Flint. The defender won this time.
Later on in the first-half, Forde powered another long-range shot towards the Walsall shot-stopper, but the ball came too quickly for Harrison to turn away a rebound.
Mola was a major influence throughout the night, not only keeping a clean sheet but also winning the crowd over with a brilliant sliding block to deny Alex Pattison. He constantly posed problems and created chances with his intricate dribbles into the box - the best example coming when he trickled the ball past Harrison Burke, setting up a Fabrizio Cavegn shot on target in the 21st minute.
However, Flint was finally extinguished in the second-half, facing a bit of blue steel from Forde. His clever flick into the box was met by an in-form Akhamrich, who slotted the ball past the goalkeeper near post.
It was not long until Rovers lit up the stadium again. A mesmerising volley from centre-back Kofi Balmer took the limelight, which will surely be a goal-of-the-season contender.
The quickfire double from the Gas came at a crucial point in the second half. Walsall had seemed rejuvenated after the break, causing the Gas lots of problems. Yet, they failed to convert their best chances of the night after link-up plays from Kanu and Adomah, and Rovers held firm for another clean sheet.
Bristol Rovers: Young, Sparkes, Kilgour ©, Mola, Forde, Akhamrich (Senior 83), De Havilland, Balmer, Harrison (Moore 95), Harbottle, Cavegn (Rijks 87)
Subs not used: Southwood, Thomas, Thompson-Sommers, McEachran
Bookings: Sparkes
Goals: Akhamrich, Balmer
Walsall: Roberts, Barrett, Hancock, Flint ©, Burke, Farquharson, Kanu, Clarke (Richards 67), Chang (Lakin 67), Pattison, Adomah (Pressley 66)
Subs not used: Loupalo-Bi, Comley, Weir
Bookings: Pattison
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 6297 (331 away)
