Notts County 1-1 Bristol Rovers
Sky Bet League Two, Meadow Lane, Saturday 2 May 2026
Bristol Rovers concluded the 2025/26 Sky Bet League Two season with a 1-1 draw away at promotion hopefuls Notts County.
The Magpies knew only a win would keep their chances of automatic promotion alive, dominating the opening exchanges before Nick Tsaroulla drilled in the opener on the half-hour mark.
In a game of two halves, Bristol Rovers began to respond after the break, with Tommy Leigh and Yusuf Akhamich making a big impact. Leigh pulled the strings in the midfield and chipped a clever pass over to Ellis Harrison, who took the ball down before drilling his low effort beyond James Belshaw.
Both sides battled for the three points in the latter stages of the test, with Notts' Jacob Bedeau's late strike ruled offside and Akhamrich curling a one-on-one attempt wide.
There was not much to separate the two sides for the first half-hour, as the hosts scrambled for an opener in front of a packed Meadlow Lane. The Magpies had plenty of possession in Rovers' half and a flurry of corners, but struggled to test Brad Young's goal.
Instead, Rovers had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock. Shaq Forde sprinted down the left side, but his powerful shot was pushed away by Belshaw and behind for a corner.
The hosts quickly pushed the Pirates for their missed chance, scoring up the other end. Alassana Jatta’s header was blocked by Clinton Mola, but Tsaroulla was the quickest to react, driving his low strike into the back of the net.
Forde tried to level almost immediately. Clever play concluded with Promise Omochere holding the ball before playing it into Forde, who struck his effort straight at the goalkeeper.
Notts continued to control possession, with Jayden Luker’s low volley poked away by Young and Jodi Jones’ cross finding Jacob Bedeau’s header in the centre of the box, but he missed the target.
Steve Evans looked at the bench at half-time, with the introduction of Leigh and Akhamrich switching the momentum of the fixture. Leigh played the ball down the left to Forde, who blasted his shot across the goal and wide before the Gas equalised.
Leigh picked up possession on the right and played a sensational switch across to Harrison, who brought the ball down with his chest before driving a low strike through Belshaw's legs and in to level.
Akhamrich, who has netted six goals during his loan spell from Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur, then had an opportunity to complete the comeback. Leigh was the provider again, and Akhamrich was one-on-one, but he dragged his shot wide of the left post.
Both teams were looking to win it and threw men forward in an attempt to secure three points. The Magpies thought they had done just that in the closing stages, with Tom Iorpenda hitting the post with a cross before Bedeau turned the ball in from close range, but the flag went up.
Ultimately, the game ended level, with Rovers stretching their unbeaten run to nine matches in Sky Bet League Two.
Notts County: Belshaw, McDonald ©, Bedeau, Norburn (Palmer 59’), Jones (Ndlovu 73’) Grant (Hall 29’), Ness, Iorpenda, Luker (Robertson 59’), Tsaroulla, Jatta (Dennis 73’)
Subs not used: Griffiths, Kouhyar
Goals: Tsaroulla
Bookings: Tsaroulla, Jatta, Palmer
Bristol Rovers: Young, Senior, Sparkes, Mola (Howley 72’), Forde (Cavegn 79’), Omochere (Leigh 46’), De Havilland (Akhamrich 46’), Balmer, Harrison (Quigley 79’), Harbottle ©, Smallwood
Subs not used: Southwood, Rijks
Goals: Harrison
Bookings: Forde, Mola, Akhamrich
Attendance: 16,264 (1793 away)
Referee: Ross Joyce
