York City v Bristol Rovers
Sky Bet League Two, LNER Community Stadium, Saturday 15 August 2026, 3:00pm KO
Bristol Rovers will open their Sky Bet League Two campaign on Saturday as they face York City at the LNER Community Stadium.
After a narrow 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup against Peterborough United last weekend, with Harry Leonard scoring the only goal of the match from the penalty spot. The Pirates had chances to level in the second half but could not find the back of the net, with attention now turning to York.
Steve Evans will now be looking to start the league on a high note after a successful end to the last campaign, winning eight and drawing one.
York also suffered a defeat in the Carabao Cup at the hands of Crawley Town, and had mixed pre-season results, finishing with a 2-1 loss to Peterborough.
Read everything you need to know about the fixture below…
Tickets…
All 892 away tickets for this fixture have been sold, and no further tickets will be available. Thank you for your brilliant support, Gasheads.
However, you can watch the match in the Pukka fanzone at The Mem alongside other Gasheads, with more information available here! This match is also on Sky Sports Football.
Travel...
From Bristol by car, take the M4 east briefly before joining the M5 north towards Birmingham. Continue onto the M42 and then follow the M1 north, passing Nottingham and Sheffield. At M1 Junction 32, join the M18 towards Doncaster, then take the A1(M) north towards Leeds. Leave at Junction 44 and follow the A64 towards York. Near York, follow signs for the A1237 and Monks Cross, then continue towards Huntington and Kathryn Avenue. The LNER Community Stadium is located at Kathryn Avenue, York, YO32 9AF.
The closest train station to the LNER Community Stadium is York Station, located in the city centre. The station is roughly three miles from the stadium.
When leaving York Rail Station, turn right and head for bus stop RB. The bus route number is Y23 (away supporters direct shuttle service to the LNER Community Stadium). The bus will then collect from Exhibition Square and then go directly to LNER Community Stadium.
Return fares are: £4.00 Adult Return & £2 Child Return. On return, buses will pick up from the rear of the stadium and drop off at Theatre Royal for the City Centre and York Rail Station.
Opposition…
After ten years of competing in non-League football, York made a dramatic comeback to the football pyramid in their promotion test against Rochdale.
With only two points separating the promotion-chasing sides heading into the final match of the season, the contest remained 0-0 until Rochdale’s Emmanuel Dieseruvwe headed in their last-minute goal. Despite it looking up for Rochdale, Josh Stones slammed home the winner for the Minstermen after a scramble in the box, in the 13th minute of added time.
York dropped from Sky Bet League Two down to the National League in 2017 and spent five seasons in the sixth tier before gaining promotion in the 2021/22 campaign. The Minstermen went from competing near the bottom of the National League to the top, finishing second in the 2024/25 season and missing out on going up before going one better last term.
Stuart Maynard led them to a famous promotion, but he departed before the start of the current campaign Scott Lindsey coming in at the end of July. They have added some Sky Bet League Two talent, bringing in Arthur Read, Zech Medley, and Mark Shelton from Colchester United, Fleetwood Town and Barnet, respectively. Former Rovers man Jack Hunt also came in, alongside a trio of youngsters from the Premier League.
Previous Meetings…
The Gas last faced off against the Minstermen in the 2015/16 season, with Rovers’ trip to York ending in a thumping 4-1 victory. Billy Bodin earned a brace alongside Lee Mansell’s and Jermaine Easter’s strikes. York’s Kenny McEvoy tried to score a consolation for the hosts, but the Gas walked away with the win.
Rovers and York City also faced off in the 2013/14 season. Bristol Rovers won their first contest 3-2 from a brace from a first half brace from David Clarkson and a strike from John-Joe O’Toole cancelling out Ryan Jarvis’ brace. The Gas kept a 0-0 draw the second time in the 2013-14 season.
The two first faced off in 1974 where York City beat the Gas 3-0 and then defeated them 3-1 again in 1975.
Match Officials…
Referee: Tom Nield
Assistant Referees: Michael Robinson and Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official: Samuel Clayton
