Bristol Rovers fell to a fourth straight defeat in Sky Bet League One after losing 2-1 to Birmingham City at The Memorial Stadium.
Blues broke the deadlock in the opening exchanges after a superb curling effort from Keshi Anderson just beat the outstretched arm of Jed Ward on its way into the top corner. However, the Gas responded excellently through Gatlin O’Donkor, who latched onto a header across the goal from Connor Taylor to equalise.
Iñigo Calderón’s men were the better side from that point onwards in the first half, but were twice denied the lead by the woodwork. O’Donkor’s header clipped the bar before Ruel Sotiriou’s attempt was saved onto the post by Ryan Allsop.
A similar second half followed, with Rovers having a chance to go ahead through Sotiriou. The forward got onto O’Donkor’s pass and was one-on-one with Allsop but struck his attempt over. Nevertheless, Blues regained the lead with six minutes left through Jay Stansfield, who rolled a penalty down the right side of the goal after Taylor was penalised for a handball.
A nervy ten minutes followed before Rovers started to build their way into the contest. Ruel Sotiriou was instrumental, slaloming his way past several defenders before slotting a clever pass through to Shaq Forde to score, but the flag went up for offside.
The Mem crowd applauded the efforts, with the Pirates starting to gain more ground in Birmingham's half. Romaine Sawyers thundered a first-time strike off target before levelling the score.
Kofi Shaw, who battled well to win the free kick, chipped a cross towards Connor Taylor, who escaped his marker and headed the ball into the middle. O’Donkor was there waiting, and he nodded his close-range attempt past Ryan Allsop.
Rovers gained all the momentum and could have turned the lead around before half-time. A rushed clearance from the hosts was flicked into a dangerous area by Matt Butcher to O’Donkor, with his header beating the goalkeeper before coming off the bar.
The Pirates then had the final opportunity of the opening 45 minutes, with Shaw instrumental again. He slipped a quick free-kick through to Sotiriou, but his low strike was saved onto the post by Allsop.
Blues came out in the second half searching for a way to turn the tide in their favour and almost regained the lead in the opening moments. Willum Þór Willumsson was given the space to shoot on the edge of the area, with Jed Ward diving down to his right to push it behind.
The Gas had a huge chance of their own just past the hour. O’Donkor fought well before the ball rolled through to Sotiriou, who lifted his strike over.
However, Birmingham struck the winner from the penalty spot. After Taylor was punished for a handball in the box, Stansfield cooly rolled his shot down the right side of the goal, with Jed Ward diving the other way.
Bristol Rovers: J. Ward, Moore (Senior 86), Wilson ©, Mola, Sotiriou, Sawyers, Taylor, O’Donkor (Sinclair 74), Butcher (Hutchinson 86), Forde (Thomas 86), Shaw (G.Ward 66)
Subs not used: Hall (GK), Swinkels.
Goals: O’Donkor 19
Booked: J.Ward 47, Shaw 55, Sotiriou 84
Birmingham City: Allsop, Laird (Sampsted 78), Klarer ©, Leonard (Seung-ho 56), Anderson, Willumsson, Cochrane, Iwata, Davies, Stansfield (Hanley 90), Dowell (May 78)
Subs not used: Peacok-Farrell (GK), Jutkiewicz, Harris
Goals: Anderson 3, Stansfield 85
Booked: Davies 59
Referee: Ollie Yates
Attendance: 8,088 (1,730)
