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Goal celebrations for Max Clark of Gillingham during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Bristol Rovers and Gillingham at Memorial Stadium on 19 August 2025. Photo: Kara Thomas\/PPAUK(Image: Photo: Kara Thomas\/PPAUK)<\/p>\nBristol Live’s Bristol Rovers player ratings as Darrell Clarke’s side lose 1-0 to Gillingham at The Mem<\/p>\n
18:33, 08 Nov 2025Updated 18:35, 08 Nov 2025<\/p>\n
Goal celebrations for Max Clark of Gillingham during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Bristol Rovers and Gillingham at Memorial Stadium on 19 August 2025. Photo: Kara Thomas\/PPAUK(Image: Photo: Kara Thomas\/PPAUK)<\/p>\n
Bristol Rovers lost their fifth consecutive League Two match, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to Gillingham thanks to a wonderstrike from Max Clark. The left-back missed a first-half penalty after he was denied by Luke Southwood but scored the only goal of the game in the 53rd minute to lift the Gills up to sixth.<\/p>\n
The Gas created a number of chances on the afternoon, with Stephan Negru missing from close range in the first-half, while Kamil Conteh and Freddie Issaka nearly equalised in the dying stages.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: ‘Back home’ – Tom Lockyer’s first words as Bristol Rovers announce defender’s return to the Mem<\/a>READ MORE: Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke outlines Tom Lockyer plans as defender returns to full fitness<\/a><\/p>\n Darrell Clarke\u2019s side now sit 17th after 15 matches, which leaves them eight points behind the play-off positions and four points above the relegation spots.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how we rated the players\u2026<\/p>\n Luke Southwood – 8<\/p>\n The Bristol Rovers<\/a> goalkeeper pulled off an impressive save to deny Clark from the spot in the first-half. Southwood stayed tall in the middle of the goal and denied the Gillingham left-back to keep the game level.<\/p>\n There was nothing he could do about Clark\u2019s goal eight minutes after the interval, though. After the decisive moment of the game, Southwood was rarely tested as Gillingham closed out a gritty 1-0 victory.<\/p>\n Macauley Southam-Hales – 5.5<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t Macauley Southam-Hales\u2019 best afternoon in a Rovers shirt, despite battling away on the right-hand side throughout the game.<\/p>\n Bristol Rovers are preparing for a new season in League Two with Darrell Clarke back at the helm and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.<\/p>\n All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Gas, delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Stephan Negru 5.5<\/p>\n Negru faced a lot of aerial duels in the first-half as the visitors continued to play long balls up to Seb Palmer-Houlden and Josh Andrews. The young centre-back dealt well with this threat but missed a golden opportunity in the 36th minute. Shaq Forde picked up the ball on the right-wing and found the defender at the backpost, but he somehow managed to divert his attempt over the bar.<\/p>\n The defender has a lot of potential, though, and it is worth remembering that it is only his fourth appearance of the season.<\/p>\n Tom Lockyer (off for Jack Sparkes, 82) – 7<\/p>\n Tom Lockyer<\/a> impressed on his home debut – dealing with the physical threat of Josh Andrews and finding the wingers on both sides with a few accurate long passes.<\/p>\n He came close with a header in the first-half after Ruel Sotiriou picked him out and deserves credit for his performance.<\/p>\n Clinton Mola – 6<\/p>\n Despite giving a penalty away for a foul on Sam Gale, Mola was largely impressive for the hosts. He picked up space on a number of occasions in the first-half and combined well with Bryant Bilongo. A largely positive display from the centre-back, who seems to suit playing in a back five.<\/p>\n Bryant Bilongo (off for Freddie Issaka, 74 – 6.5<\/p>\n Bilongo was a bright spark in the first-half and nearly found Fabrizio Cavegn in the 12th minute after finding space on the left wing. He battled throughout the game – pressing the Gillingham tirelessly and was unlucky to be on the losing team.<\/p>\n Alfie Chang – 6<\/p>\n Alfie Chang was another Rovers player who constantly looked to make things happen. When Gillingham dropped deeper in the second half, he fired just wide of the right post in the 63rd minute.<\/p>\n Joel Cotterill (off for Kamil Conteh, 73\u2019) – 6<\/p>\n Like Chang, Cotterill was a dynamic presence in the midfield. He took a number of corners which ultimately came to nothing. He came off for Conteh in the 73rd minute after a tireless display against a direct Gillingham side.<\/p>\n Shaq Forde (off for Luke Thomas, 68\u2019) – 6.5<\/p>\n Forde was extremely unlucky not to register an assist today. Not only did he put the ball on a plate to Negru in the first-half, but he also threaded through Cavegn in the 14th minute. Although his impact after the break wasn\u2019t as big, Forde can hold his head high after a bright performance.<\/p>\n Ruel Sotiriou (off for Ollie Dewsbury, 83) – 5.5<\/p>\n Sotiriou started his second consecutive match and was unable to make a significant impact. His brightest moment came when he picked out Lockyer after a short corner, but the centre-back headed over in the 12th minute.<\/p>\n Fabrizio Cavegn – 6<\/p>\n Cavegn<\/a> was lively throughout and looked to drag the Gillingham defenders out wide throughout. Ultimately, he missed a big chance in the 14th minute when he was denied by Jake Turner and was unable to get on the scoresheet.<\/p>\n Substitutes:Luke Thomas – 6.5<\/p>\n Luke Thomas<\/a> made an instant impact at Bromley last week, assisting Cavegn for the opener and playing a crucial role in the second. He tried to make things happen and was unlucky in the 87th minute when his effort was deflected for a corner.<\/p>\n Kamil Conteh – 6<\/p>\n Conteh came close to equalising in the last minute of the game when his header from a corner was tipped onto the bar by Turner. Given he only played 17 minutes, it was hard for the midfielder to make a significant impact on the outcome.<\/p>\n Join Bristol Rovers Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol Rovers stories sent straight to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol Rovers Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the Bristol Rovers news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to join our WhatsApp community.<\/a><\/p>\n Freddie Issaka – 6<\/p>\n Issaka produced some nice touches when he came on and was also close to equalising when his effort in the last minute was cleared off the line. Definitely reasons to be optimistic about the young winger.<\/p>\n Jack Sparkes – 5.5<\/p>\n Sparkes\u2019 delivery was largely disappointing after he came on, but his corner in the 97th minute found Conteh, whose header struck the bar.<\/p>\n Ollie Dewsbury – 6<\/p>\n The youngster was bright in the late stages and won a clever free-kick in the 93rd minute.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Stephan Negru discusses dealing with injury setbacks and his excitement to make home debut<\/a>READ MORE: Bristol Rovers’ Brad Young details Lockyer influence, Southwood bond and clean sheet mentality<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol Live’s Bristol Rovers player ratings as Darrell Clarke’s side lose 1-0 to Gillingham at The Mem 18:33,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,10648,2707,748,46615,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-557950","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-live","10":"tag-bristol-rovers-fc","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-darrell-clarke","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115516001234913211","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250513_DCSigns_WC063-copy.jpg\")
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