As Bristol Rovers get ready for their Vertu Trophy clash against Cambridge United at home, here are five players who represented both outfits.
The Pirates earned a home draw in the Round Of 32 after finishing top of the Southern Group B. The Gas started the competition with a thrilling 4-4 draw with Tottenham Hotspur U21s, beating the Lilywhites on penalties, before back-to-back 1-0 victories over Cheltenham Town and Plymouth Argyle.
As for Cambridge, their second-place finish in Southern Group H guaranteed them an away draw. The U's claimed wins over Luton Town and Brighton & Hove Albion U21s, either side of a 3-2 loss to Barnet.
This is the third clash between the two teams at The Memorial Stadium this season. Cambridge claimed a 2-0 win in the Carabao Cup before the Gas got revenge in Sky Bet League Two, beating the U's 1-0 through Ellis Harrison's first goal back at the Club.
Read about five players who have played for both teams below...
Ryan Loft
Loft scored for Cambridge this season against the Gas and is currently on loan at Crawley Town. He joined Rovers in January 2022, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal and opened his account for the Club in April of that year, lifting the ball over Port Vale’s Aidan Stone in the 94th minute in a big promotion clash.
The 28-year-old played for the Gas for three seasons, making 50 appearances overall, including during their promotion to Sky Bet League One. He featured on the bench when Rovers beat Scunthorpe 7-0 on the final day of the campaign, with the Pirates overtaking Northampton Town on goals scored.
Loft netted seven goals overall for the Gas before having a brief one-year spell at Port Vale, before moving to Cambridge United in the 2024/25 season.
He has made 38 appearances for his parent club, appearing in both clashes against the Gas in August. The striker has since joined Crawley on loan for the rest of the 2025/26 season, missing a penalty against the Gas for the Red Devils in October.
James Gibbons
Full-back Gibbons currently plays for League Two side Cambridge. After spending his youth career and the beginning of his senior career at Port Vale, then Leek Town on loan, Gibbons found himself signing for the newly promoted Gas in 2022.
Making 48 appearances in all competitions between 2022 and 2024, he made his debut against another newly promoted side, Forest Green Rovers, falling victim to a late 2-1 defeat.
With injury ruling out the rest of the season, and another injury making him miss the start of the 2023/24 season, he scored his first goal in a 4-1 Vertu Trophy Group Stage victory against Cheltenham Town.
He set up the opening goal for Rovers in their Emirates FA Cup game against Whitby Town in late November. Gibbons went on loan to Cambridge in January 2024 and played 13 times for the U's before signing permanently ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
He picked up a knee injury against Peterborough United, which ruled him out of action for 12 league games of the campaign, but still made 30 appearances across all competitions. Gibbons has featured regularly for Cambridge this season and captained the club against Brighton & Hove Albion in their previous Vertu Trophy match.
George Williams
After starting his career at Midland Football League side Loughborough University and featuring for Worcester City, Barnsley and Milton Keynes Dons, Williams signed for Bristol Rovers in January 2021.
He made 26 appearances for the Gas, with his debut appearance coming during a 2-0 away defeat to Oxford United after arriving off the bench to replace Abu Ogogo. He featured in the starting team for Rovers’ victories against Portsmouth, Accrington Stanley and Shrewsbury.
In June 2021, the defender joined the then League One side Cambridge. He made 84 appearances for the U’s, netting goals against Sheffield Wednesday and then against Millwall in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
In July 2023, Williams joined Mansfield Town after being released by Cambridge United at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Victor Adeboyejo
Having spent his youth career with the likes of Arsenal, AFC Wimbledon, Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient, Adeboyejo spent the 2019/20 season on loan with the Gas.
The striker made 30 appearances throughout the season, helping Rovers get to the Third Round of the Vertu Trophy, netting a goal against Chelsea U23s in the group stages, before being knocked out by Stevenage.
He scored two goals overall for the Pirates, the other strike coming against Rochdale within the first ten minutes in a 2-1 victory.
Adeboyejo switched to Cambridge on loan for the rest of their 2019/20 campaign, making eight appearances and earning an assist in the U’s 1-0 away victory to Newport County.
Victor Adeboyjo then moved to Burton Albion in July 2022 and, after netting 11 league goals in 26 appearances, switched to Bolton Wanderers in January 2023. The 27-year-old is still at the Trotters and has hit the back of the net 17 times in 99 games across all competitions for them.
Jeff Hughes
Now Head of Youth Development Phase at his boyhood club, Larne FC, the defensive midfielder first joined Rovers on loan from Crystal Palace in March 2008. He picked up an injury after scoring on his reserve team debut before signing for the Pirates permanently in the summer.
Hughes made 140 appearances for the Gas during his three-year spell at the club, scoring 30 goals overall. He notably scored a hat-trick against Dagenham and Redbridge in 2010, helping the Pirates win 3-0.
After spells with both Notts County and Fleetwood Town, Hughes signed a two-year contract with Cambridge, making nine appearances for them. He scored in their Emirates FA Cup clash against Basingstoke before being sent on loan to Tranmere Rovers in 2016.
He made his move to Tranmere permanent in the 2016/17 season, before moving back to Larne FC, where he would later retire.
