Forest Green Rovers were beaten 3-1 by local rivals Bristol Rovers at The New Lawn despite taking the lead early in the match, as well as missing a penalty with seven minutes to go.
A frenetic first half hour saw Forest Green take the lead through Charlie Savage after a well taken strike gave him his first goal for the club, but Bristol Rovers regained control and quickly levelled through John Marquis and former Premier League star Scott Sinclair put them ahead seven minutes later.
The second half headed in much the same direction with Bristol Rovers dictating proceedings and they found their third goal as Marquis flicked a corner in to the far corner to grab his second of the day.
FGR were given a route back into the game when they awarded a penalty as Corey O’Keefe was brought down in the area with seven minutes remaining. He stepped up to take it, much to the dismay of teammate Myles Peart-Harris, but a tame effort was saved by James Belshaw low to his right.
Forest Green led for the second week in succession but are still yet to win in 2023 as Duncan Ferguson’s side slip closer towards inevitable relegation.
Player Ratings:
Lewis Thomas- 5
Struggled with the difficult conditions in his return to the starting XI, could have parried Sinclair’s initial effort to safety before the ex-Celtic winger scored at the second attempt. Was then lucky not to gift the away side a fourth goal when he spilled a simple corner.
Dom Bernard- 5
Lacked the drive to push the home side up the pitch and was frail in his defensive duties.
Udoka Godwin-Malife- 6
Great battle with Bristol’s Josh Coburn, recovered from a difficult first half and was more assured in central defence as the game progressed.
Brandon Cooper- 7
Really difficult against the front three of Bristol Rovers but was solid throughout and won his match ups.
Jamie Robson- 6
Similar problem to Bernard on the opposite flank, Ferguson is yet to utilise his full backs in the attacking third effectively.
Dylan McGeouch- 6
Mopped up in front of defence well but lacked cohesion with his central midfield partners.
Myles Peart-Harris- 6
Couldn’t get involved today, stood somewhere between his usual 10 role and a floating eight, which does not suit his skillset.
Charlie Savage-6
Great finish with his left foot but was easy to forget he was on the pitch after that, never able to get on the ball in dangerous positions.
Corey O’Keefe- 6
Possessed great energy and worked tirelessly down both the right and left flanks after switching in the second half, despite seeing little of the ball, missed his penalty that could have got his side back in the game.
Amadou Bakayoko- 6
Replaced at half time, another game left isolated to compete for long balls.
Jordan Garrick- 7
Great composure to hold the ball up and set up Rovers’ only goal.
Tyrese Omotoye- 6
Showed glimpses of quality after his half-time introduction but isolated like Bakayoko.
Kyle McAllister- 6
Not involved much after coming on with 28 minutes to go.
Baily Cargill- 6
Subbed on after 84 minutes.
Harvey Bunker- 6
Subbed on after 84 minutes.
Sean O’Brien- 6
Subbed on after 84 minutes.
Referee: Scott Oldham- 7
Kept control of a local derby that threatened to boil over at stages.
