Bristol Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur U21s
Vertu Trophy, The Memorial Stadium, Tuesday 27 August, 7pm KO
Bristol Rovers start their Vertu Trophy campaign against Tottenham Hotspur U21s at The Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Gas will go into the contest with confidence after keeping back-to-back clean sheets at home in Sky Bet League Two, drawing with Oldham Athletic before claiming all three points against Cambridge United on the weekend, with Ellis Harrison's first-half strike enough to help Rovers earn their first victory of the season.
The Pirates were drawn into Southern Section Group B of the competition and travel to Cheltenham in October before concluding the group stages at home to Sky Bet League One outfit Plymouth Argyle. They will attempt to improve on their performance in the tournament after exiting at this stage last term.
Spurs U21s lost their previous outing in the Premier League 2, falling to a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace. Zach Marsh was the difference for the Eagles, with the forward netting a hat-trick. Yusuf Akhamrich and Oliver Irow got the goals for Spurs.
Tickets...
Tickets for our fixture against Spurs are still available and can be purchased here!
Opposition...
Spurs were excellent in the Premier League 2 in the 2023/24 season, winning 14 of their 20 fixtures in the league phase to top the table before beating Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea in the elimination play-offs to set up a final against Sunderland at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where they defeated the Black Cats 3-1 to win the competition for the first time.
However, they had a much more difficult time last term and finished in 21st place out of 26 teams, achieving just 19 points compared to the 46 they had reached the previous season. They have played two matches in the Premier League 2 this campaign and beat Sunderland in an eight-goal thriller on the opening day before losing to Palace. Irow has been one to watch for Spurs this campaign, scoring three goals in his first two outings.
Last term in the Vertu Trophy, the Academy outfit finished third in Southern Section Group G, collecting two points from their three fixtures.
Previous Meetings...
The two teams have only met once, with the two teams playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw at The Mem before the Lilywhites won on penalties in the group stages of last year's competition.
Isaac Hutchinson broke the deadlock for Rovers inside eight minutes, before the visitors turned the score around after a thunderous effort from Will Lankshear and a clever finish from Mikey Moore.
Damola Ajayi then cancelled out Kofi Shaw's leveller to give Spurs a 3-2 lead before Luke McCormick equalised for the Gas with 15 minutes remaining. With the contest ending with penalties, Irow converted the winner after Jack Garrett saw his spot-kick saved.
Spurs will look like a very different team from last year, with their three scorers all out on loan. Moore, who played ten times in the Premier League and five times in the Europa League last season, has moved out to Rangers. Lankshear has moved on loan to Sky Bet Championship side Oxford United, with Ajayi switching to Doncaster Rovers.
Other players who started the fixture who have gone out on loan include Tyrese Hall and George Abbott, who have moved to Notts County and Wycombe Wanderers, respectively.
Match Officials...
Referee: Stephen Parkinson
Assistant Referee: Stuart Kane and Mark Senior
Fourth Official: Jason Roberts
