Bristol Rovers out of the FA Cup in 3rd round replay
The Gas were leading 1-0 against Norwich at the half-time break
Last updated 17th Jan 2024
It was a crunch match over at the Memorial Stadium tonight - with League One side Bristol Rovers hosting the Championship's Norwich City in the Third Round Replays of the FA Cup.
At stake - a place in the next round, and the opportunity to take on Premier League side - and current leaders - Liverpool at Anfield.
The Gas were looking to join Bristol rivals, Bristol City, into the 4th Round of the tournament, who beat London side West Ham on Tuesday night (16 January) after a goal in the third minute of the first half.
You can read more about their match here: Bristol City bring FA Cup shock - with the Robins through to Round 4
Back to the Mem, and fans were certainly excited - including the team from the GasCast Podcast.
On social media, they said: "If you’re normally loud - sing louder. If you’re normally quiet - bring your voice!
"Make sure you wake up tomorrow hoarse & having left everything out there on The Mem terraces.
"Our lads need us tonight."
A win would have meant it would have been the first time in nearly two decades that both Bristol clubs had made it to the 4th Round of the FA Cup
These fans were on Gloucester Road getting hyped for the prospect of taking on a Premier League side:
Before the match, and following sign-off from Bristol Council, a limited number of tickets were available in the new South Stand - with the game being a first test event fixture for the new building, starting off by opening at 50% of its maximum capacity.
The match
It was a solid first half for the Gas - holding their own for the full 45 minutes - with three minutes of added time not deterring them from maintaining their 1-nil lead, thanks to Luke McCormick at the 20th minute.
However, the tables turned in the second half - and by the end of normal time, Norwich found themselves way ahead, thanks to three goals from three separate players.
The comeback came by Gabriel Sara - and despite the fans at the Mem cheering the home side on, it wasn't many minutes until Norwich were 2-1 up, after the referee offered the away side a penalty at the 59th minute, which was scored by Adam Idah.
After a few changes and a change of formation - both sides fates were sealed after an 87th minute strike by Kenny McLean. There was some disgruntlement with the fans, though, with some clearly protesting against the Norwich player's game before the fatal strike, assisted by Christian Fassnacht.
The referee added an extra 7 minutes to the end of the game - but that wasn't enough for the Gas to bounce back.
The finals score ended 3-1 to the visitors.
Rovers manager Matt Taylor said: "This is a defeat that hurts because for me we've played a big part in our own downfall.
"Matt (Cox) was almost our penalty hero with the way he got a hand to the penalty (from Idah that made it 2-1) but that epitomises us in a sense.
"We're an almost team and that's got to change if we're going to get anywhere.
"I'm proud of the players because we've gone toe-to-toe with a good Championship side.
"But overall it's a big regret because we played well over the two legs. We shot ourselves in the foot in that little second-half spell which is frustrating."