As Bristol Rovers prepare to face Salford City in their Sky Bet League Two clash on Saturday, it is time to look back on five players who have played for both clubs.
Currently sitting 10th in the fourth tier, the Pirates have been unbeaten in their last six games. The Gas most recently played Colchester United, ending the clash in a 1-1 draw, with Fabrizio Cavegn getting the goal for the Gas.
Salford are second in the table after earning six wins from their first nine outings. The Ammies have accumulated 19 points, beating Swindon Town 3-2 in their last match.
Before the upcoming fixture at The Memorial Stadium, take a look at these five players who played for both the Gas and the Ammies.
Matty Lund
Lund, who recently played for Salford, joined the Gas on loan from Stoke City in 2012. Originally joining Rovers on a month’s loan, the midfielder scored his first two senior goals in his 13th appearance for the Club. Impressing the Pirates, he switched to the Gas again in the 2012/13 season, making a further 18 appearances for the squad and providing two goals, notably one coming in his final appearance against Plymouth Argyle.
After spells at teams such as Rochdale, Burton Albion and Scunthorpe United, he moved to Salford in July 2021. He scored his first goal for his boyhood club against Bradford City, with it being a stoppage-time winner in a 1-0 victory, before netting a hat-trick against Manchester United U23s in what would be a 4-3 victory for the Ammies. He made 167 appearances for Salford across all competitions, plenty more than his 33 for the Pirates.
Paul Coutts
Midfielder Coutts sported the blue-and-white quarters from 2021 through to 2023. He first joined Salford on loan from Fleetwood Town back in 2021, making 19 appearances and being cup-tied for Salford’s 2020 EFL Trophy victory back in March 2021. Coutts swiftly moved to the Pirates on a one-year deal in early July 2021. He was quickly announced as the new Club captain.
Coutts was an important member of Rovers' 2022/23 team, making 39 appearances in Sky Bet League Two to help the Pirates finish in third position, gaining automatic promotion to the third tier. He made 61 league appearances across his two seasons at the Gas before moving to the Inverurie Loco Works.
Jack Baldwin
Centre-back Jack Baldwin joined newly promoted Salford on loan from Sunderland for the remainder of the 2019/20 season. Having made 17 appearances for Salford, he opened his Ammie account in January 2020, netting the equaliser against Northampton Town. He subsequently joined Bristol Rovers for the 2020/21 Sky Bet League One campaign, making 45 appearances and scoring two goals, one against Walsall and another against Northampton. In August 2025, he joined fellow League Two club Colchester United.
Rory Gaffney
Gaffney represented Rovers in January 2016 after a successful loan spell with us in the 2015/16 season, netting five goals for the Pirates. The forward made 93 appearances for the Gas between 2016 and 2018 after he played a key role in the Club’s promotion to Sky Bet League One in the 2015/16 season. He provided 16 goals for the Gas during his time at the Club, his first being in December 2016 in a 4-2 victory against Bury.
The centre-forward joined Salford on a three-year contract in June 2018 and was an instrumental part of their promotion to the Football League in the 2018/19 season. He scored 11 goals with the Ammies until he signed for Walsall on loan. He joined his current club, Shamrock Rovers, in February 2020. He has scored eight goals in 20 matches in 2025.
Matt Butcher
In January 2025, Matt Butcher joined the Gas on loan from Wycombe Wanderers until the end of the season. He made 18 appearances for Bristol Rovers, serving as a midfielder before returning to the Chairboys. He then switched to Salford on loan in August 2025 and has played five times this term in the fourth tier.
