Match ends, Bristol Rovers 2, Northampton Town 0.
Bristol RoversBristol Rovers2NorthamptonNorthampton Town0
Brandon Hanlon and Jack Baldwin netted second-half goals to give Bristol Rovers a League One win over 10-man Northampton.
Hanlon found the roof of the net with a 55th-minute penalty after being brought down by Cian Bolger and Baldwin made sure of the points by volleying in Cian Harries' 79th-minute cross.
Northampton had defender Joe Martin sent off on the hour when an arm into the face of Hanlon was considered worthy of a second yellow card.
Rovers could have won by more as the closing stages saw Josh Hare hit the bar and Cobblers goalkeeper Steve Arnold make fine saves from Sam Nicholson and Hanlon.
A scrappy first half ended without either side having created a clear chance. Harries had the ball in the net for Rovers following an eighth-minute corner, but was ruled offside.
Chris Missilou volleyed wide from 12 yards for Northampton, while Luke McCormick went close for the home side with a curling effort just wide.
Report supplied by PA Media.
Line-ups
Bristol Rovers
Formation 3-5-2
- 32Jaakkola
- 5Ehmer
- 26Baldwin
- 25Harries
- 22Hare
- 14McCormickSubstituted forHargreavesat 86'minutes
- 4GrantBooked at 23mins
- 8Westbrooke
- 24Tutonda
- 17DalySubstituted forNicholsonat 72'minutes
- 9Hanlan
Substitutes
- 1van Stappershoef
- 3Leahy
- 6Upson
- 10Mitchell-Lawson
- 11Nicholson
- 15Kilgour
- 20Hargreaves
Northampton
Formation 3-4-3
- 1Arnold
- 15RacicBooked at 11mins
- 5BolgerBooked at 90mins
- 3MartinBooked at 60mins
- 2HarrimanSubstituted forKorboaat 57'minutes
- 8WatsonBooked at 82mins
- 27MissilouSubstituted forSowerbyat 57'minutes
- 23Mills
- 7Hoskins
- 9Smith
- 20WarburtonSubstituted forAshley-Sealat 57'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Sowerby
- 10Adams
- 11Korboa
- 13Mitchell
- 22Ashley-Seal
- 29Rose
- 45Marshall
- Referee:
- Sam Purkiss
Match Stats
Home TeamBristol RoversAway TeamNorthampton
- Possession
- Home62%
- Away38%
- Shots
- Home18
- Away9
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away1
- Corners
- Home10
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home11
- Away16
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Bristol Rovers 2, Northampton Town 0.
Post update
Josh Grant (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Sam Hoskins (Northampton Town).
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Attempt missed. Zain Westbrooke (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Booking
Cian Bolger (Northampton Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Brandon Hanlan (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Cian Bolger (Northampton Town).
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Attempt blocked. Cameron Hargreaves (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Josh Hare.
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Foul by Max Ehmer (Bristol Rovers).
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Ricky Korboa (Northampton Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Attempt blocked. Sam Nicholson (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Cameron Hargreaves.
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Attempt saved. Sam Hoskins (Northampton Town) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Jack Sowerby.
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Josh Hare (Bristol Rovers) hits the bar with a right footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Zain Westbrooke with a cross.
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Corner, Bristol Rovers. Conceded by Joseph Mills.
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Attempt blocked. Brandon Hanlan (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from very close range is blocked.
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Attempt saved. Brandon Hanlan (Bristol Rovers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Josh Hare.
Substitution
Substitution, Bristol Rovers. Cameron Hargreaves replaces Luke McCormick.
Post update
Anssi Jaakkola (Bristol Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Joseph Mills (Northampton Town).
