Bristol Rovers 'silly mistakes' but Gas 'didn't deserve' to exit Vertu Trophy

‘So we’re going to bring experienced players in that’s been there, seen it done it, and that’ll help us.’

22:25, 13 Jan 2026Updated 22:50, 13 Jan 2026

Winning Goal celebrations for Aribim Pepple of Plymouth Argyle during the Vertu Trophy Match between Bristol Rovers and Plymouth Argyle at Memorial Stadium on 13 January 2026. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK

Bristol Rovers assistant head coach Paul Raynor was frustrated at the “silly mistakes,” which cost the Gas, as they lost 4-3 against Plymouth Argyle at The Mem in the Vertu Trophy. The 59-year-old did praise the performance from the hosts, though, saying that Rovers didn’t get what they deserved against League One opposition.

It was a chaotic evening, with three different goalscorers for Rovers – Shaq Forde, Fabrizio Cavegn and Luke Thomas. The game looked like it was heading for a penalty shootout at 3-3 in the closing stages, but the substitute Bim Pepple scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to send the Pilgrims to the last eight.

Head coach Steve Evans was then sent-off post match – a double sending off for the bosses as Tom Cleverley had been dismissed in the first-half. It was a dramatic night as Rovers exited the competition in the last 16.

Speaking about the defeat, Raynor said: “I think we didn’t really deserve that. I thought the guy’s performance, particularly going forward, was something we didn’t deserve. But if you defend like that, you make silly mistakes, you get punished for them. They’re a decent League One team. Tom’s got them playing some good stuff now. They’re a real threat going forward. You don’t need to give them a hand, you don’t need to help them. We helped them in the first couple of minutes with Tom [Lockyer] making a basic mistake, and as I say, they punished it.

“You might get away with that in League Two. You certainly don’t get away with strikers of the quality that Plymouth have got on the pitch tonight. So we got punished, but the reaction was excellent, the reaction from the guys, to respond and go 2-1 up.

“Then we told them at half-time, let’s start brightly, let’s not make silly mistakes. Don’t deal with the first ball and then concede from a corner. So it’s the things we can work on, the things that we’ll get better at, but it’s basic defending and basic mistakes that we need to erase and be better.”

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It’s already been a busy January window, with the Gas bringing in Ryan De Havilland and Kofi Balmer, alongside the recall of Isaac Hutchinson and the departure of the five loanees.

Speaking about whether we can expect any more incomings before the weekend, Raynor, doing press because Evans’ red card means he cannot do any post-match media duties, said: “Certainly hope so. I know the gaffer and Ricky [Martin] and the Chairman are working extremely hard on incomings. I thought Kofi settled in well today. It was important to get him on the pitch and get some minutes, same with Ryan De Havilland, and they’ll make us better.

(Image: Getty Images)

“We lost, as I said to you before the game. We lost five young, promising players. We’ve replaced them with bringing Hutch back. Obviously, with Kofi, an experienced player and an experienced player in Ryan. So we’ve added experience to the group, and we’ll continue to try and do that.”

A player that has been linked with a move away from the Gas is Bryant Bilongo, who has reportedly agreed a deal to join Rochdale on loan. Raynor confirmed that, “there has been talk, over the last couple of days regarding Bryant,” which would leave more space in the squad for the Gas to recruit between now and the end of January.

When speaking to Bristol Live about whether Bilongo’s departure will leave space in the squad for a left-back to come in, Raynor said: “There’ll be, you know, we’re working on everything. We’re working on everything. The plates are spinning, as I say, Ricky and the Gaffer and the board are working incredibly hard on getting bodies in.

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“As I say, we lost five players. We need to replace them. The idea is to replace them with proven players, with experienced players. The young boys were good players, promising players, but they got put into a situation with a team that wasn’t winning, so it was difficult for them.

“So we’re going to bring experienced players in that’s been there, seen it done it, and that’ll help us.”

Next up for the Gas is a league game against Colchester United at The Mem. They will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in League Two, as they look to steer clear of the relegation zone.

Bristol Rovers ‘silly mistakes’ but Gas ‘didn’t deserve’ to exit Vertu Trophy

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