Bristol Rovers Football Club

Fabrizio Cavegn was certainly a super substitute for Bristol Rovers against Tottenham Hotspur U21s in the Vertu Trophy.

With the Pirates 3-1 down at half-time, with Ellis Harrison getting a goal back just before the break in reply to three quickfire goals from Tynan Thompson, Luca Williams-Barnett, and Yusuf Akhamrich, the striker netted his first goal in the blue-and-white quarters nine minutes after coming off the bench, nutmegging a defender before driving his effort past the goalkeeper.

Spurs restored their two-goal lead soon after, but a free-kick from Isaac Hutchinson and another from Cavegn levelled the tie before the Swiss striker scored his spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out, in which Rovers won 5-4.

Speaking to BRTV after the game, Cavegn wanted to do his best for the side after being introduced at half-time.

"It was a hard game," he said. "When I came on, I felt we could change and turn the game. I feel there was a good feeling in the team, and I wanted to do my best.

"I had to come in with the score at 3-1 in favour of the other team, and I gave my best, and I had to turn the game around.

He later added: “It was not the best game that we want. We want more and we have to do more, but we want to play, and we want to fight.

For a striker, scoring your first goal at a new Club is vital. Cavegn, who had scored 41 goals in 103 appearances before moving to Rovers from Swiss Challenge League side FC Vaduz, showed his talent with his first goal, taking a nice touch from Kamil Conteh's pass before beating a defender to work space for a shot and finishing past Samual Archer.

His second strike also showed his instincts in the box, with the forward rushing onto Bryant Bilongo's pass down the left side of the box before striking his effort in at the near post.

Cavegn was proud to get his first goal for the Pirates and insisted it will give him plenty of confidence moving forward.

"It was a really good moment, and a few minutes later, the second one came," said Cavegn. "It’s a very good feeling, and for me, it’s very important for the next games.

"The goal gives me a lot of confidence. If I score on the pitch, it pushes me to give more. It was very special [to score] because I have come here to score goals and to help the team, and I will do it in the next games."

Rovers are unbeaten in their last three outings in all competitions and are back in Sky Bet League Two action on Saturday. The Pirates travel to Grimsby Town, who have won three and drawn two of their five fixtures in the fourth tier, with Darrell Clarke's men looking to build on the 1-0 win over Cambridge United at The Mem last weekend.

“We are ready,” said the striker. “We are going to do everything in the next few days and will look to the next game on Saturday. We have to do more.”

Watch the highlights from Bristol Rovers' eight-goal thriller against Tottenham Hotspur U21s in the Vertu Trophy, with the Gas winning on penalties after a 4-4 draw at The Memorial Stadium.

Strikes from Tynan Thompson, Luca Williams-Barnett, and Yusuf Akhamrich had given Spurs a three goal advatnage in the opening exhanches of the contest before Ellis Harrison and Fabrizio Cavegn scored either side of half-time to reduce the vistors advatage to just one.

The Pirates were in the acandeacy and were pushing for a leveller before Thompson netted his second to restore Spurs' two goal lead. However, after the away side went down to ten men, with Samual Archer shown a red card for a late challenge on Ryan Howely, Darrell Clarke's men regained control.

A free-kick from Isaac Hutchinson and another finish from Cavegn levelled the score at 4-4 before Brad Young was the hero for Rovers in the penalty shoot-out, denying James Roswell's deciding penalty.

Vertu Trophy, The Memorial Stadium, Tuesday 27 August, 7pm KO

Bristol Rovers start their Vertu Trophy campaign against Tottenham Hotspur U21s at The Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Gas will go into the contest with confidence after keeping back-to-back clean sheets at home in Sky Bet League Two, drawing with Oldham Athletic before claiming all three points against Cambridge United on the weekend, with Ellis Harrison's first-half strike enough to help Rovers earn their first victory of the season.

The Pirates were drawn into Southern Section Group B of the competition and travel to Cheltenham in October before concluding the group stages at home to Sky Bet League One outfit Plymouth Argyle. They will attempt to improve on their performance in the tournament after exiting at this stage last term.

Spurs U21s lost their previous outing in the Premier League 2, falling to a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace. Zach Marsh was the difference for the Eagles, with the forward netting a hat-trick. Yusuf Akhamrich and Oliver Irow got the goals for Spurs.

Tickets...

Tickets for our fixture against Spurs are still available and can be purchased here!

Opposition...

Spurs were excellent in the Premier League 2 in the 2023/24 season, winning 14 of their 20 fixtures in the league phase to top the table before beating Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea in the elimination play-offs to set up a final against Sunderland at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where they defeated the Black Cats 3-1 to win the competition for the first time.

However, they had a much more difficult time last term and finished in 21st place out of 26 teams, achieving just 19 points compared to the 46 they had reached the previous season. They have played two matches in the Premier League 2 this campaign and beat Sunderland in an eight-goal thriller on the opening day before losing to Palace. Irow has been one to watch for Spurs this campaign, scoring three goals in his first two outings.

Last term in the Vertu Trophy, the Academy outfit finished third in Southern Section Group G, collecting two points from their three fixtures.

Previous Meetings...

The two teams have only met once, with the two teams playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw at The Mem before the Lilywhites won on penalties in the group stages of last year's competition.

Isaac Hutchinson broke the deadlock for Rovers inside eight minutes, before the visitors turned the score around after a thunderous effort from Will Lankshear and a clever finish from Mikey Moore.

Damola Ajayi then cancelled out Kofi Shaw's leveller to give Spurs a 3-2 lead before Luke McCormick equalised for the Gas with 15 minutes remaining. With the contest ending with penalties, Irow converted the winner after Jack Garrett saw his spot-kick saved.

Spurs will look like a very different team from last year, with their three scorers all out on loan. Moore, who played ten times in the Premier League and five times in the Europa League last season, has moved out to Rangers. Lankshear has moved on loan to Sky Bet Championship side Oxford United, with Ajayi switching to Doncaster Rovers.

Other players who started the fixture who have gone out on loan include Tyrese Hall and George Abbott, who have moved to Notts County and Wycombe Wanderers, respectively.