Bristol Rovers earned a third successive victory in Sky Bet League Two after a 3-2 win against Newport County.
A slow first half saw chances be few and far between, as the stop-start nature of the game prevented either side from taking control.
Luke Thomas scored the opener after a goalmouth scramble to give the Pirates the lead, before quickly adding his second after goalkeeper Nik Tzanev gifted him the ball, as the Rovers forward took one touch before slamming the ball home for his and Rovers' second. Ellis Harrison then added the Pirates' third late on, getting above his marker to head in Alfie Chang's cross.
Newport piled on the pressure late on, scoring two goals through Kai Whitmore and Nathaniel Opoku, but it wasn’t enough for the home side as the Gas secured the victory.
A tight start to the first half saw both sides battling for possession in the first five minutes of the Severnside derby.
The first chance of the game would fall to the Exiles, as the ball dropped to Ciaran Brennan inside the Gas penalty area, but Brad Young, in goal with Luke Southwood on international duty with Northern Ireland, reacted well to deny him.
Referee Oliver Mackey found himself often involved as the first half struggled to flow, as neither side managed to build sustained possession.
Promise Omochere struck the bar with a header after meeting a corner in the Gas’ best chance of the half, but the referee blew for a foul for the home side.
Bobby Kamwa was sent through on goal early in the second half and beat Brad Young; however, the linesman had his flag in the air to disallow the opener for the Exiles.
A huge scramble in the box saw the ball land to Fabrizio Cavegn, who smashed the post and saw an effort blocked, before the ball reached Thomas, who calmly finished past Tzanev to give the Gas the lead.
The goalkeeper then gifted Rovers a second minutes later. He passed the ball straight to Thomas, who took a touch and rifled in his and Rovers' second to give Darrell Clarke's men a commanding lead at Rodney Parade.
The Gas were full of confidence and scored an impressive third through Harrison. Chang, who was put straight into the midfield after moving on loan from Birmingham on transfer Deadline Day, lifted his cross towards the forward to net his second goal for Rovers.
Newport County pulled a goal back after a fine chest and volley from Whitmore to put some pressure on the Gas, before scoring another in the 88th minute through Opoku to pile the pressure on in the last moments. Nevertheless, Rovers managed to hold on, securing all three points in the Severnside derby.
Newport County: Tzanev, Evans (Whitmore 63), Glennon, Baker (Opoku 63), Clarke, Brennan (Garner 85), Kamwa, Jenkins, Ogunneye, Reindorf (Spellman 70), Braybrooke (Antwi 85)
Subs not used: Wright, Thomas
Goals: Whitman, Opoku
Booked: Baker
Bristol Rovers: Young, Sparkes, Kilgour, Omochere, Thomas (Sotiriou 76), McEachran, Conteh, Southam-Hales (Senior 82), Chang (Mola 82), Cavegn (Harrison 66), Łopata
Subs not used: Moore, Bilongo, Issaka
Goals: Thomas X2, Harrison
Booked: Southam- Hales, Omochere, Mceachran
Referee: Oliver Mackey
Attendance: 5305 (1037 away)
