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Bristol Rovers 3-1 Grimsby Town

League Two

Bristol Rovers 3 - 1 Grimsby Town FT

Tottenham loanee Yusuf Akhamrich was the Bristol Rovers hero as the Gas eased their relegation worries and ended Grimsby's long unbeaten run with a 3-1 win at the Memorial Stadium.

The 20-year-old Londoner stood out with an early assist to help put Rovers in command, before sealing victory with a composed second-half finish as he registered his fourth goal since heading to Rovers last month.

On-loan Motherwell defender Kofi Balmer gave Rovers a perfect start in stunning style when he volleyed in from 20 yards after Richie Smallwood's free kick was only half cleared, to stun visitors aiming to extend a 10-match undefeated League Two run.

It went from bad to worse for the Mariners when Rovers forward Joe Quigley doubled the lead on seven minutes as he drove in a first-time shot from 15 yards after being cleverly teed up by Akhamrich.

Grimsby then dominated and on-loan Bradford striker Andy Cook scored his third goal in a week to halve the deficit on 38 minutes with a turn and close-range finish following Charles Vernam's cross.

Rovers steadied themselves after the break and Akhamrich restored the two-goal advantage on 63 minutes with an assured finish, rolling a low shot into the right-hand corner of Jordan Smith's goal after Ellis Harrison's lay-off, to ease Rovers nerves.

Match report supplied by PA Media.

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