Former Bristol Rovers star Aaron Collins makes 'respect' point after Bolton winner against Gas

Aaron Collins scored the winning goal against his former club for Bolton Wanderers on SaturdaySport

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

16:00, 07 Apr 2025

Former Bristol Rovers forward Aaron Collins scored against his old side for Bolton Wanderers on Saturday(Image: Mike Morese | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Former Bristol Rovers forward Aaron Collins has confessed that he “respects the fans a lot” after the now-Bolton Wanderers star scored the winning goal against his former side on Saturday.

A game of limited chances was eventually unlocked in the 76th minute as Collins headed past Jed Ward after a delightful cross from Gethin Jones.

The Welshman’s celebrations were muted out of respect for his former club, having also scored against them at the Mem in a 2-0 win last season.

Speaking post-match, Collins said: “I was obviously there for a long period of time, I had two and a half very good seasons there and I respect the fans a lot so no celebration. But I celebrated at the end with our fans.

“That is the main thing, we got three points and I managed to get the goal. I know how much it means to these fans. We kept the clean sheet and Nathan (Baxter) made a great save to keep it at 1-0.

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“I don’t think we created a load, I don’t think we let them create a load. It was very similar to Tuesday (1-0 win over Wigan Athletic). Less of a fight but at the end of the day, we have just got to look at the positives now and move on to the next. If we keep clean sheets, we will win games.”

Collins was part of the Rovers team that secured promotion out of League Two in the 2021/22 campaign before winning League One player of the season the following term after scoring 16 goals and registering 12 assists in the third tier.

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The versatile forward then endured a slow start to last term before eventually being sold to Bolton last January for a fee believed to be in the region of £750,000, missing out on a chance to play in the Championship when losing in the play-off final against Oxford United.

The 27-year-old’s goal against his former employers was the Welshman’s 18th of the season across all competitions while the victory saw Bolton climb back into the play-off positions.

Former Bristol Rovers star Aaron Collins makes ‘respect’ point after Bolton winner against Gas

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