Promise Omochere’s late header at the Memorial Stadium earned Bristol Rovers a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Wrexham AFC.
The Red Dragons had taken the lead in the first half through Elliott Lee, who raced onto Matty James’ pass and stroked his low effort past the goalkeeper.
Rovers struggled to create chances before the break but turned the momentum in their favour in the second half with attacking changes, with Omochere netting the equaliser five minutes from the end with an excellent downward header.
The hosts pushed for a winner and kept putting the ball into the box, but the contest ended level, ending Rovers' three-game losing run in Sky Bet League One.
David Horseman made three changes to the team that lost 2-0 to Birmingham City last weekend, with Taylor Moore, Chris Martin and Club captain Scott Sinclair coming into the side.
The Gas displayed plenty of intent early on and worked hard out of possession to try and unsettle the Red Dragons. However, the visitors had the first opportunity of the afternoon when Ollie Palmer latched onto Oliver Rathbone’s knock and flashed his first-time effort just over the bar.
Max Cleworth then lifted a shot over following a corner before Wrexham took the lead. James curled a clever through ball behind Rovers’ defence and into the path of Lee, who took his time before calmly slotting his low effort past Griffiths.
Wrexham searched for a second, with Andy Cannon slicing his shot from the right off target and Ryan Barnett bending his ambitious strike from range just wide of the post.
On a cold and windy day at The Memorial Stadium, the Pirates tried to battle their way back into the first half but were reduced to little before the break. Taylor Moore rushed down the right and whipped a cross towards Luke McCormick. However, his tame header was collected by Mark Howard.
Phil Parkinson’s men ended the first 45 minutes well and went inches away from adding a second goal. Barnett got to the byline and looped a clever cross into James McClean, but he thumped his powerful strike against the bottom of the left post.
Horseman made two changes at half-time, attempting to turn momentum into the Gas’ favour, with Joel Senior and Omochere replacing Moore and Sinclair. It had the desired effect in the early stages, with the hosts winning a couple of free-kicks around Wrexham’s box and getting down the wings to put their defence under pressure.
Nevertheless, chances were few and far between at the start of the second half, with Paul Mullin’s wayward curling shot from range the closest either side went until the final 20 minutes. First, Steven Fletcher’s close-range shot deflected wide before James drilled his strike from the edge of the box just beyond the post.
Rovers enjoyed plenty of time in Wrexham’s half and added Shaq Forde to the attacking mix in the final stages.
The pressure was too much for the Welsh side, with the Gas levelling five minutes from time. Luke Thoams chipped his cross towards Omochere, who got above his marker to direct his header past Mark Howard.
There were five minutes of stoppage time at the end, with the home fans fully behind their side. The Pirates were throwing the ball into the box at every opportunity, but Wrexham stood firm, and the game ended level.
Bristol Rovers: Griffiths, Moore (Senior 46), Wilson, Mola (Forde 79), Sinclair (Omochere 46), Taylor, Martin, Conteh, McCormick (Hutchinson 73), Forbes (Thomas 22), Lindsay
Subs not used: Ward, Sotiriou.
Goals: Omochere 86
Booked: Thomas 45+3, Lindsay 57
Wrexham: Howard, Brunt, Cleworth, O’Connell, McClean, Cannon (Dobson 84), Palmer (Fletcher 67), Rathbone, Barnett, James, Lee (Mullin 36)
Subs not used: Foster, Faal, Revan, Scarr
Goals: Lee 18
Booked: Palmer 45+4, Cleworth 48
Referee: Lee Swabey
Attendance: 9471
