Brad Young's two penalty saves helped Bristol Rovers beat Tottenham Hotspur U21s in their opening fixture of the Vertu Trophy.
Young, making his first competitive appearance in goal for the Gas, pushed away Calum Logan's panenka penalty before saving James Rowswell's spot-kick to win the tie for the Pirates.
In a tense game of ups and downs, Spurs went three goals ahead in the opening 15 minutes after fine finishes from Tynan Thompson, Luca Williams-Barnett, and Yusuf Akhamrich. Rovers battled back, with Ellis Harrison netting just before the break and Fabrizio Cavegn netting his first goal for the Pirates to reduce Spurs' lead to only one.
Nevertheless, Thompson scored his second and his team's fourth to restore Spurs' two-goal advantage before a dramatic conclusion. Samual Archer was sent off for a late tackle on Ryan Howley, who was racing through on goal before Isaac Hutchinson and Cavegn's goals levelled the tie. Heading into penalties, Young saved James Roswell's penalty to give Rovers two points.
The Gas started an early attempt from Ellis Harrison, who beat Archer from close range inside the opening minute, but was flagged for offside.
Rovers went close again soon after. The ball landed into Isaac Hutchinson’s possession, kicked towards Bryant Bilongo and then to Ollie Dews, who tried to break the deadlock. However, after a melee in the box, it was cleared off the line before being claimed by the goalkeeper.
Spurs then scored three goals in quick succession in a clinical display in front of goal. An attempted flick from Clinton Mola to the Gas was intercepted, with Lucá Williams-Barnett swooping in and passing it to Tynan Thompson, who shot through the legs of Young.
Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny then assisted Spurs second, rolling an intelligent pass through to Williams-Barnett, with the forward cleverly going around Young before finishing high into an open net. Two became three for the away side moments later. This time, Akhamrich broke down the right before driving his strike into the bottom-right corner.
After an attempt from Hutchinson, which flew above the sticks, the Pirates were fired up. A 35th-minute substitution from Darrell Clarke, swapping Daniel Ellison for Kamil Conteh and the Gas felt revitalised.
Ollie Dewsbury sent the ball towards Isaac Hutchinson for a leveller, but the ball couldn’t find the net. It wasn’t until Ryan Howley provided the assist for an opportunistic Ellis Harrison, who netted a left-footed shot into the top left corner, that Rovers saw a silver lining on the stroke of half-time.
With the second half about to start, Clarke made a substitution, Cavegn replacing Harrison, with the Swiss striker getting involved quickly after coming on.
Conteh rolled a pass through to Cavegn on the left side of the box, with the 22-year-old slipping the ball through the legs of a defender before firing his strike past the goalkeeper.
The Gas had all the momentum, but Spurs regained their two-goal advantage after a tidy finish from a narrow angle from Thompson, before Archer was sent off for Spurs after a late challenge on Howley. The visitors were punished immediately, with Hutchinson curling his free-kick over the wall and past Aaron Maguire.
With the score 4-3, an attempt from Ollie Dewsbury was just whiskers away, but Fabrizio Cavegn fired a right-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box into the bottom left corner to level the contest.
With the tie concluding with a penalty shoot-out, Spurs had the chance to win the fixture after Ollie Dewsbury's effort was saved. However, Logan's audacious shot was saved by Young. Moore then thundered his strike in before Young impressed again, pushing away Roswell's attempt to win it for the Pirates.
Bristol Rovers: Young, Senior (English 88), Moore, Mola, Hutchinson, Thomas, Ellison (Conteh 36), Harrison (Cavegn 46), Howley, Bilongo, Dewsbury
Subs: Southwood, Odumboni, Hill, Iwhiwhu
Goals: Harrison (45+2), Cavegn (54, 73), Hutchinson (69)
Booked: Howley (25), Thomas (26), Hutchinson (34)
Tottenham Hotspur U21: Archer, Olusesi, Russell-Denny, Thompson (Logan 74), Cassanova, Hardy, Byfield (Ashcroft 82), Williams-Barnett (Lehane 82), Akhamrich, Irow (Maguire, 68), Rowswell
Subs: Black, Arganese-McDermott, Egan-Riley,
Goals: Thompson (10, 58), Williams-Barnett (14), Akhamrich (16)
Booked: Olusesi (35), Byfield (76), Maguire (84)
Red: Archer (65)
Referee: Stephen Parkinson
Attendance: 1067 (48 away)
