Bristol Rovers 0-1 Gillingham
Sky Bet League Two, The Memorial Stadium, Saturday 8 November 2025
Bristol Rovers fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Gillingham at home in Sky Bet League Two.
The hosts had the lion’s share of chances in the opening exchanges and had six corners in the first 20 minutes. However, the Gills were given a penalty on the stroke of the half-hour mark, with Tom Lockyer adjudged to have fouled Josh Andrews in the box, but Luke Southwood saved Max Clark's strike.
Stephan Negru then lifted his close-range effort over the bar before Clark made up for his missed penalty with a curling effort from the edge of the box into the top corner.
Rovers pushed in the final stages, with substitutes Kamil Conteh and Freddie Issaka going agonisingly close, but Gillingham held on to claim all three points.
The first corner fell short of the net for the Gas, as Joel Cotterill’s set piece was cleared away by Remeao Hutton, followed by a short skirmish in the box and Alfie Chang’s right-footed attempt soaring over the goal.
Rovers dominated the possession, despite an abundance of tough challenges from the Gills. Bryant Bilongo was a constant threat down the left, and he raced onto a pass from Clinton Mola, pushing away his marker before dragging a cutback towards Fabrizio Cavegn, but the Gillingham defence cleared behind.
Cavegn then forced a clever save out of Jake Turner from a tight angle before the visitors were given a penalty. Lockyer was punished for a foul on Andrews, but Southwood stood firm to save his second penalty of the campaign, beating his effort away before collecting the loose ball.
Forde tried to break the deadlock, racing down the right and shifting the ball towards the net; however, Stephan Negru directed his shot over the bar from close range.
Having had multiple corners, Cotterill’s final corner on the stroke of half-time was cleared by the visitors. A few narrow attempts from the visitors saw both teams leave the first half goalless.
Nine minutes after the restart, Gillingham gained the lead. Clark collected Negru's headed clearance on the edge of the box, taking a touch before lashing his attempt across the goal and into the top right corner.
Some substitutions from Darrell Clarke in the form of Luke Thomas, then Ollie Dewsbury and Jack Sparkes in the latter stages of the match, provided the hosts with more attacking power in the final third.
Alfie Chang used some clever footwork to beat his marker before forcing a save out of Jake Turner and then bending a low shot just past the right post soon after.
Conteh then went inches away from getting his first goal for the Gas. Jack Sparkes whipped a cross over to the midfielder, who powered a smart header on target, but Turner displayed brilliant reactions to push it onto the bar and away.
Issaka then had a chance in the heart of the box and beat the goalkeeper with a low drive, but a defender got back to clear the ball off the line. The Pirates have lost their last five games in Sky Bet League Two and will look to get back to winning ways when they host Plymouth Argyle in the Vertu Trophy.
Bristol Rovers: Southwood, Mola, Forde (Thomas 68), Sotiriou (Dewsbury 83), Lockyer © (Sparkes 82) Cotterill (Conteh 73), Southam-Hales, Chang, Bilongo (Issaka 74), Negru, Cavegn
Subs not used: Young, Moore
Booked: Sotiriou
Gillingham: Turner, Hutton, Clark, A. Smith, Coleman, Andrews (Ogie 76), Palmer-Houlden (McCleary 84), McKenzie ©, Nevitt (Rowe 84), Khumbeni (Dack 77), Gale
Subs not used: Holtam, J. Smith, Vokes,
Goals: Clark
Booked: Andrews, McKenzie, Nevitt
Attendance: 8,056 (1,053 away)
Referee: Alan Young
