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GAME DETAILS
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League Two
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Attendance: 3,237
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1-1
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Graham 77
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Agogo 87
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| Managers |
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DT92 Members at this game: (you can click here to load your profile picture) |
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jeff manning
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Sean Clevedon Gas
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gashead eric
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Rovers had to settle for just a point from their opening game of the season this afternoon, with Junior Agogo saving the day right at the death.
The former Barnet front man headed home a Ryan Williams cross on 87 minutes of the Underhill clash, to cancel out an effort from Richard Graham that had put the Conference champions ahead just ten minutes earlier.
Barnet were quick to mount some early pressure on the Rovers defence, and had a number of decent chances within the opening 15 minutes of the match.
Graham made a good run down the left before cutting inside on to his right foot, and a good pass into the path of Dean Sinclair was struck goalwards before being well tipped over the crossbar by Scott Shearer.
Christian Edwards needed to make a timely tackle to deny Sinclair again moments later, and the same Barnet player was causing more problems with a rasping shot across the face of goal that only just sailed beyond Rovers' left post.
John Anderson became the first injury casualty of the new season for Rovers after breaking his nose in a challenge with a Barnet forward. The former Hull City man initially wanted to play on, but was hauled off and sent to hospital on advice of the club doctor.
Craig Disley had Rovers' first shot on goal as the midway point of the first half approached, but although his left-footed drive was struck with plenty of power, it flew about six yards wide of the target.
A good cross into the box from Richard Walker almost found the head of Agogo, although what looked like a shove in the back from Anthony Charles put the striker off balance as he prepared to pounce, and then more pressure from Rovers saw a Disley shot deflected into the grateful arms of Scott Tynan via Ian Hendon's foot.
A foul on Aaron Lescott led to a Steve Elliott free-kick that was fired into the base of a four-man Barnet defensive wall, and Robbie Ryan squandered a chance from the rebound as he dithered in possession on the edge of the box.
Charles needed to be alert to deny Disley after a good flick-on from Walker, before the first half ended with a glorious chance for Giuliano Grazioli whose downward header at the back post was brilliantly cleared off the line by a well positioned Jon Bass.
The second half continued to see both sides create chances on goal, with a Stuart Campbell cross to the head of Walker seeing Tynan save well, before Grazioli struck a 25-yard shot wide of the target at the other end.
Hendon tried his luck with a shot-come-cross that sailed just over the top left corner of the Rovers goal, and then some good skill from Agogo down the flank saw the forward progress some 50 yards before being hacked down on the edge of the penalty area.
Barnet edged themselves into a 1-0 lead in somewhat fortunate circumstances with just short of 15 minutes of the contest remaining.
A long ball forward from Ismail Yakubu saw Shearer come charging out to the edge of his area in an attempt to clear the danger, only to be beaten to the ball by Graham. And after winning the ball ahead of the Rovers goalkeeper the Barnet man turned to face goal, before stroking home a left-footed shot which somehow evaded the back-pedalling Bass and Craig Hinton before finding the net.
Elliott had a chance to respond almost instantly for Rovers only for his free-kick to strike the Barnet wall, but just a few moments later the equaliser did come, with Agogo scoring against his former club with just three minutes of the game remaining.
The goal came after Williams, off the bench just moments earlier, showed some superb awareness down the flank, picking up the ball after his first shot was blocked to brilliantly pick out Agogo at the back post, allowing the striker to head home unmarked past a helpless Tynan.
Sinclair lashed at the ball in the penalty box as Barnet attempted in vain to restore their lead in stoppage time, but the final whistle was blown moments later with both teams having to settle for a share of the points.
Rovers looked at their best in the closing stages of the match when they were forced to chase Barnet in search for an equaliser, with the attacking qualities of Agogo, Disley, Campbell and Williams in particular starting to shine.
Whether this result will prove to be a point gained or two points lost remains to be seen, but it was a solid enough outing on the first weekend of the season, and a couple of decent home results in the next week could make this a very encouraging start to the 2005/06 campaign for Ian Atkins' side.
BARNET
Graham 77 1-1 BRISTOL ROVERS
Agogo 87
ATTENDANCE: 3,237
BARNET: Scott Tynan, Ian Hendon, Simon King, Ismail Yakubu, Anthony Charles, Nick Bailey, Richard Graham, Ben Strevens (Liam Hatch 89), Dwane Lee, Dean Sinclair, Giuliano Grazioli (Jason Norville 86)
Unused Substitutes: Louis Soares, Adam Gross, Ross Flitney
BRISTOL ROVERS: Scott Shearer, Jon Bass (Ryan Williams 80), Christian Edwards, John Anderson (Craig Hinton 11), Steve Elliott, Robbie Ryan, Craig Disley, Aaron Lescott, Stuart Campbell, Junior Agogo, Richard Walker (Jefferson Louis 70)
Unused Substitutes: Ali Gibb, Jamie Forrester
REFEREE: Darren Drysdale
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REPORTED BY: Ian Cole
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gaswardy
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woodbee
79 |
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archieboco
35 |
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Maggot55
26 |
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Rovers1CityNil
19 |
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