Rovers win on the road against Mansfield

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Bristol Rovers beat Mansfield Town 1-0 in Sky Bet League One thanks to Luke McCormick’s second-half goal for the Gas. 

After a first half of few chances for either side, Rovers took the lead just four minutes after the restart through Luke McCormick. Chris Martin and Isaac Hutchinson combined down the left before the latter delivered a smart cutback across to McCormick, who tapped in from close range.
 
Mansfield responded well but could not find a way past Josh Griffiths, with Lucas Atkins’ flick denied before the goalkeeper pushed Will Evans’ strike across the goal away.

Matt Taylor trusted his starting side and did not make a change until the 84th minute, with the defence staying strong to collect the win and a sixth clean sheet of the campaign. 

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James Wilson

The hosts were playing at their own stadium for the first time in November. They looked to make their home advantage count in the opening exchanges with a handful of corners, but Rovers defended resolutely to nullify their aerial threat. 

The Gas stood strong against the pressure and started to build their way into the contest. Clinton Mola attempted to make things happen down the left and tricked his way past a defender before rolling a pass into Martin, who was free in the box, but he could not get it under control before Frazer Blake-Tracy could get across. 

Evans was one of Mansfield's summer recruits and has scored five goals since moving from Newport County. The forward had a chance to add to his tally just before the half-hour mark, but he blazed a right-footed strike from close range well over following a clever move from the hosts. 

Keanu Baccus then sent a header straight at Josh Griffiths, with Matt Taylor's men enjoying bright moments for the rest of the half. Mansfield kept committing numbers forward. However, the Gas looked more likely to break the deadlock on the counter, with McCormick often leading the charge. 

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Luke McCormick

The midfielder was making his third straight start for Rovers and was searching for the ball at every opportunity. He started quickly after the restart, firing a shot over before breaking the deadlock soon after. 

Hutchinson rushed down the left and pulled a clever cutback towards McCormick to score from close range. 

The former Wimbledon man was full of confidence and had a chance to double his tally for the game soon after. Moore directed a pass towards him on the edge of the area, but he whipped his first-time strike over. 

The Stags battled back into the contest and called Griffiths into action twice. The ball bobbled around the box before Atkins flicked a low shot on target, but the goalkeeper did well to get down to collect. 
 
Evans then drilled a strike across the box from the left, with Griffiths pushing his effort away. The ball then rebounded of the striker, but he could not react quickly enough to direct his shot on target. 

The Stags then thought they had levelled in the final seconds, but George Maris' goal was disallowed for handball, and Rovers collected the win.

Mansfield Town: Pym, McLaughlin (Maris 73), Hewitt, Akins (Waine 62), Evans, Flint, Quinn (Boateng 62), Baccus (Lewis 73), Blake-Tracy (Bowery 76), Oshilaja, Reed

Subs not used: Flinders, Kilgour

Booked: Reed 25, Blacke-Tracy

Bristol Rovers: Griffiths, Moore, Wilson, Mola, Taylor, Martin (O’Donkor 84), Hutchinson, Conteh, McCormick (Ward 84), Forde, Lindsay  

Subs not used: Sinclair, Sotiriou, Thomas, Forbes, Bilongo

Goals: McCormick 49

Booked: Conteh 26, McCormick 57 

Referee: Carl Brook

Attendance:7,357 (451 away fans)

Read Time: 3 mins