Oldham Athletic 3-1 Bristol Rovers
Sky Bet League Two, Boundary Park, Tuesday 17 February 2026
Bristol Rovers fell to a 2-0 defeat at Boundary Park in Sky Bet League Two against Oldham Athletic, with goals from Kane Drummond and Mike Fondop giving the Latcis all the points on Tuesday night.
The hosts got off to the best possible start under the lights when Drummond stuck a superb effort from range into the top corner within the first minute of the contest.
The Pirates responded with chances of their own before the break. Joe Quigley and Luke Thomas missed the target with opportunities inside the box before Oldham doubled their lead in the second half. Joel Senior was penalised for a handball inside the box, with Fondop seeing his spot-kick saved by Brad Young before netting the rebound.
Rovers fought till the end but could not break through a resolute Latics defence as the game finished 2-0.
Steve Evans made five changes to the Pirates side that lost 3-1 to Cambridge United on the weekend, but did not get to see his alterations come into effect before Oldham netted a sublime opener inside 35 seconds. Fondop headed the ball down to Drummond, who struck a fantastic half volley and caught Young cold to break the deadlock with his first touch.
Rovers came close to responding through the returning Quigley as Kane Thompson-Sommers stood a ball up towards the back post, but the forward’s header went narrowly wide.
Chances kept falling the way of the Gas as Thonas fired over after some great hold-up play from Fabrizio Cavegn before finding the winger just inside the box. Kane Thompson-Sommers drove an effort from distance over the bar after beating two Oldham players in the midfield.
Bristol Rovers held the majority of the possession for the remainder of the half but could not find an answer for Kane Drummond’s early rocket.
Joel Senior whipped in a devilish delivery at the start of the second half of the affair, but no one in a rover’s shirt could apply the finishing touch. Cavegn looked to have gotten on the end of it; however, the Swiss striker could not turn his header goalwards before Thomas lofted the ball over.
The Pirates were applying the pressure. Nevertheless, their missed chances were punished by the hosts. Senior blocked a cross from the right, with referee Scott Oldham deeming that his arm was in an unnatural position, immediately pointing to the spot. Fondop drove a powerful strike on target, which Young saved, but the forward was able to follow up and finish into an empty net to double the Latics lead.
Still, Rovers knew the chances would keep coming and looked for a comeback. Kofi Balmer's long throw-in from the left was flicked towards the top-right corner by Aflie Kilgour's head, but Mathew Hudson found a way to claw the ball over when it looked to be heading in.
The Gas kept putting the ball in the box, but the ball simply would not drop for the visitors, with Oldham holding onto all three points at Boundary Park on a cold Tuesday night.
Oldham Athletic: Hudson, Pett, Daniels, Monthe, Fondop (Garner 85), Stevens (Hannant 79), Drummond (Hammond 85), Kavanagh (Woods 60), Caprice, Robson, Payne
Bookings: Pett, Kavanagh, Drummond
Goals: Drummond, Fondop
Unused subs: Donaghy, Simeu, Taylor
Bristol Rovers: Young, Senior, Kilgour, Thomas (Akhamrich 72), Lockyer (Moore 66), Thompson-Sommers, Balmer, Leigh (De Havilland 72), Quigley (Harrison 72), Cavegn (Rijks 72), Smallwood
Bookings: Thompson-Sommers, Lockyer, Kilgour, Thomas
Unused subs: Southwood, Omochere
Attendance: 6256 (378 away)
