- Year Founded: 1883
- Nickname: The Gas
- Major Honours: Football League Third Division: Champions: 1 1989–90 Football League Two play-offs: Winners: 1 2007
Bristol Rovers were formed, as the Black Arabs, in September 1883, following a meeting of five young men at a restaurant on Stapleton Road, in the Eastville district of the city.
The name of the club was derived from the black shirts worn by the players and a rugby club known as the Arabs, who played on an adjacent pitch, at Purdown, in East Bristol.
The first season of League football saw Rovers finish in 10th position, though during the 1920’s and 1930’s, they were never serious contenders for promotion and in fact had to seek re election to the Third Division (South) at the end of the 1938/39 campaign.
By January 2004, though, those plans were scrapped after it was reported that 85% of the residents in the area of the proposed development were opposed to the construction of the arena.
Hull 3 Northampton 0- League One
Grant McCann’s side had to be patient, but a home win was never in doubt once Callum Elder scored his first goal for the club after 30 minutes.
Elder was teed-up by Keane Lewis-Potter on the edge of Northampton’s penalty box and curled home a first-time finish into the top-left corner.
Lewis-Potter extended Hull’s advantage after 44 minutes when Josh Magennis beat the visitors’ offside trap.
Magennis then squared a simple ball towards Lewis-Potter, whose deflected shot spooned over goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell.
Hull added gloss to the scoreline when substitute Gavin Whyte coolly put Mitchell on his backside before stabbing into an open net in second-half stoppage time.
McCann’s men are three points clear at the top, though nearest pursuers Peterborough and Sunderland have games in hand.
Northampton showed more endeavour after the restart but never looked like scoring and are just above the relegation zone.
Bristol Rovers 2 Doncaster 1 – League One
The visitors took a 13th-minute lead when a slip by Cian Harries put Bristol in trouble and James Coppinger accepted a pass from Taylor Richards before curling a right-footed shot past Anssi Jaakkola.
But the home side refused to buckle and were rewarded on 37 minutes when Chelsea loanee McCormick buried a fierce right-footed drive from angle after running onto Zain Westbrook’s pass.
The same combination worked again on 56 minutes when Westbrook moved onto a Pablo Martinez pass and pulled the ball back for McCormick to find the roof of the net with a stunning shot from 15 yards.
Doncaster thought they had levelled early in the second half, but Fejiri Okenabirhie’s close-range shot was ruled out for offside.
Bristol defender Jack Baldwin cleared off the line from Jason Lokilo but Joey Barton’s team were worth the three points, having created the majority of chances in a closely-fought game.
03 October 2020 – Bristol Rovers 2 The Cobblers 0
Hanlon found the roof of the net with a 55th-minute penalty after being brought down by Cian Bolger and Baldwin made sure of the points by volleying in Cian Harries’ 79th-minute cross.
Northampton had defender Joe Martin sent off on the hour when an arm into the face of Hanlon was considered worthy of a second yellow card.
Rovers could have won by more as the closing stages saw Josh Hare hit the bar and Cobblers goalkeeper Steve Arnold make fine saves from Sam Nicholson and Hanlon.
A scrappy first half ended without either side having created a clear chance. Harries had the ball in the net for Rovers following an eighth-minute corner, but was ruled offside.
Chris Missilou volleyed wide from 12 yards for Northampton, while Luke McCormick went close for the home side with a curling effort just wide.
| Played | Won | Draw | Lost | F | A |
| 136 | 50 | 38 | 48 | 205 | 202 |
| Biggest Win over Bristol Rovers | 28/12/1931 – County Ground – Jack English – 6-0 |
| Biggest Loss over Bristol Rovers | 16/01/1935 – Eastville -Jack English – 7-1L |
| First-Ever Game | 06/09/1902 – County Ground – 3-1L |
Played for both – Bristol Rovers
Here’s an in depth look at a player that has played for both the Cobblers and Bristol Rovers.
The Hertfordshire-based official will travel to The PTS Academy Stadium for his twenty-eighth game of the season and his 13th in Sky Bet League Two. The current campaign is Rock’s second in the EFL after being promoted ahead of the 2019-20 season.
His first game of the campaign was the Carabao Cup match between Crawley Town and Millwall which ended 3-1 to the Lions. He showed one yellow card in the match. Meanwhile, his latest match was the League Two encounter between Cambridge and Morecombe on Good Friday with Mr Buck giving 6 cards and sending one player off.
He will be assisted by Marvyn Amphlett and Andrew Aylott and the Fourth Official is Carl Boyeson.
His latest Cobblers Game
| Date | Comp | Match | Y | R | |
| 06/10/20 | LEAGUE TROPHY | Northampton 5–0 Southampton U21 | 2 | 0 | |
| 10/10/19 | LEAGUE TWO | Port Vale 1–1 Northampton | 0 | 0 | |
All season ticket holders will have access to watch the Bristol Rovers game on Saturday on iFollow.
To check….
1. Log in to iFollow
2. Click your name in the top navigation bar to get to the ‘My Account page’
3. Click the + sign next to ‘Purchased Packages’blob:https://cobblerspast.com/94b8f29f-b59d-49f9-9f33-dc55d662ba17
If you have access, you will see ‘Season Ticket – Northampton Town’ listed here.
If you experience any issues, please email ifollow@ntfc.co.uk
- In their last 10 encounters in the Football League, Northampton Town have only gotten the better of Bristol Rovers on two occasions (D3 L5) – both of those victories were settled by a single goal margin (1-0).
- Bristol Rovers won 6-0 in their last visit to Northampton in October 2017 – to date, this is their largest away victory in the Football League this century.
- Northampton have won four of their last five home games in League One (L1), having won just three of their first 15 on home soil this season (D4 L8).
- Bristol Rovers have failed to win any of their last 12 league games away from the Memorial Stadium (D2 L10). They’ve lost their last six away games in League One in a row – the last time the Gas lost seven consecutive away games was between December 2010 and February 2011.
| Stats | NORTHAMPTON | Bristol Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 40 | 40 |
| Goals | 33 | 39 |
| Shots on target | 120 | 148 |
| Shooting accuracy | 42.40% | 41.70% |
| Goals conceded | 57 | 63 |
| Clean sheets | 11 | 7 |
| Yellow cards | 80 | 60 |
| Red Cards | 3 | 2 |
OnThisDay Morecambe 1 The Cobblers 1
Lee Collins
Interview – Andy Holt
Looking back on our last long campaign in the League Trophy back in the season 2003/2004 UnderI interviewed ex-cobbler Andy Hot, Andy played for the Cobblers between 2004 – 2012 making over 190 appearances scoring over 15 goals.
