Next Up: Bristol Rovers vs Exeter City
City missed the chance to effectively confirm their League One status by drawing 1-1 with fellow strugglers Wigan on Tuesday night, but there is another chance to do this on Saturday with a visit to a club in deeper trouble near the foot of the table. Gary Caldwell rang the changes on Tuesday – some forced (Jones and Turns missed out through the injuries picked up against Stockport) while others were with freshness in mind. One beneficiary was Reece Cole, in a rare start since his injury issues he scored the equaliser and earned the man of the match award, while Jack Fitzwater made a seamless return to the side having been missing since the defeat to Blackpool in January. Andrew Oluwabori made his home bow off the bench and Caldwell has hinted at the recent signing from Halifax gaining more playing time over the rest of the season. Ryan Woods also made his first start in a while having missed a few games with a niggle.
It has been a season of struggle for Bristol Rovers that has seen a change of manager but not a change of fortune. Dispensing with the services of former City player and boss Matt Taylor just before the sides met over Christmas, former Brighton defender Inigo Calderon has achieved the same number of wins (six) as Taylor managed, but a run of five straight defeats coupled with improved form from Burton and Crawley means the Gas could drop into the bottom four on Saturday should City and Burton both win (albeit with a seven goal swing required). Calderon has had something of an injury crisis of his own to deal with, particularly up front, with veteran Chris Martin and summer signing Promise Omochere out for the season, while overall top scorer Isaac Hutchinson (six in all competitions) hasn’t found the net since mid-February. Such is the issue with finding a consistent line-up that aside from the ever-present James Wilson only one other player has started more than 30 games (Connor Taylor). In contrast City, despite all the injury worries, have five players (including one ever-present) who have started 30+ games.
Saturday will mark the third fixture between the sides this season with City having taken the spoils in both previous matches. City visited the Memorial Stadium in the EFL Trophy at the end of October and won a pulsating match 3-2 – Bird opened the scoring, Taylor equalised for the hosts, Alli restored the lead which was cancelled out by Hutchinson, then Demetri Mitchell capped his long-awaited return to the side with the winner. The league match at SJP saw City come back from a goal down to win 3-1 with all the goals in the final half hour – Omochere gave the visitors the lead but the first league goals in City colours for Fitzwater and Richards, sandwiching a strike from Alli, sealed the points. That win extended City’s league head-to-head lead to 29-27, with 29 matches finishing level.
The match officials for this game will be:-
Referee: Matthew Russell
Assistant Referees: Darren Wilding and Ashley Allen
Fourth Official: Scott Simpson
Matthew Russell has taken charge of two Exeter games this season, the 2-1 win at Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy in October, and the 4-4 draw in December at home to Crawley. His record this season has seen him take charge of 22 games, showing 67 yellow cards and issuing 2 red cards.
Interview with Gary Caldwell
Interview with Reece Cole