Bristol Rovers beat Northampton Town 1-0 on the opening day of the Sky Bet League One season after a stoppage-time header from Bryant Bilongo.
A slow start to the first half was followed by Rovers having the better chances. Grant Ward fired his effort from range straight at Lee Burge before Promise Omochere, who was one of six players handed their debut from the start by Matt Taylor, forced a brilliant diving save out of the goalkeeper.
Rovers remained the team in the ascendancy after the break but couldn’t make the chances count. Hutchinson was denied his first Gas goal after a fantastic block by Jordan Willis and Omochere headed his effort just wide.
The Pirates had plenty of opportunities and finally took the lead in the 92nd minute through Bilongo, who latched onto Luke Thomas’ corner and knocked his header into the net.
The Gas had been without a win on the opening day since 2011 and almost went behind in calamitous circumstances inside the opening three minutes. Josh Griffiths’ clearance in the box was charged down by the onrushing Callum Morton, with the ball bouncing just off target.
The opening exchanges were cagey, with the Pirates taking 27 minutes to have their first attempt on goal. Scott Sinclair held up the ball well before rolling it towards Ward on the edge of the area, but he drilled his low first-time effort straight at Burge.
The hosts started to build momentum, with Omochere going close to netting his first goal for the Gas on his competitive debut after scoring twice in pre-season. The forward collected the ball on the edge of the box and held off his marker before sending a swivelling shot towards the bottom corner, with the shot-stopper getting down quickly to push it wide of the far post.
Rovers continued their momentum up until the break and had another half-chance to break the deadlock, with Omochere heading over Isaac Hutchinson’s free-kick.
The Gas continued to push for the opener soon after the break and went close after a smart move. Sinclair displayed his quality again in possession, pushing away a defender in the box before rolling a pass across to Hutchinson. However, his strike from close range was blocked well by Willis, who slid across.
The opportunities kept coming for Taylor's men. James Wilson stopped a promising attack from the Cobblers and raced down the right before laying a pass into Luke Thomas, but he whipped his left-footed effort from the edge over.
Thomas was at the heart of the action moments later, sending a cross into a dangerous area, with Omochere flicking his header wide.
Northampton had their opportunities limited, with Sam Hoskins whipping a pacy strike from the edge just over the top.
Rovers then went close again heading into the closing stages. Thomas proved to be a constant problem on the wing and cut his low ball across to Kamil Conteh, with Burge spilling his shot before the away side cleared.
It looked like Rovers would have to settle for a goalless draw heading into seven minutes of additional time, but scored in the final stages to take a deserved lead. Thomas swung his corner towards the back post, and Bilongo was there to plant his downward header into the net.
Bristol Rovers: Griffiths, Moore, Wilson, Mola, Sinclair © (McCormick 58), Ward (Lindsay 67), Omochere (Senior 77), Thomas, Hutchinson (Forbes 77), Conteh, Bilongo.
Subs not used: Garrett, Hall, Taylor.
Goal: Bilongo 92
Booked: Griffiths 24
Northampton Town: Burge, McGowan (85), Guthrie ©, Willis (Magloire 62), Hoskins, Fox, Pinnock, Koiki, McGeehan, Hondermarck (Fosu 82), Morton (Wilson 82).
Subs not used: McCarron, Tomlinson, Tzanev.
Booked: Hoskins 91, Fox 93
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 8,529 (586 away)
