Plymouth Argyle will face Bristol Rovers in the second round of the FA Cup. Rovers defeated Bromley 1-0 at Hayes Lane to book their place in the next round, Johnson Clarke-Harris scoring the winner in the third minute.

Argyle were drawn against the winners of this tie during the FA Cup second round draw eight days ago.

It will be the third time Ryan Lowe’s men have lined up against Rovers since he arrived. The first encounter was a 1-0 loss in a pre-season friendly, while Argyle comprehensively outplayed their opponents in their EFL Trophy encounter this season, but an Alex Palmer blunder thew away the win.

The west-country rivals have faced off against one-another frequently since Argyle’s relegation from the Championship in 2010, having only played in different divisions three times in the past ten seasons. There hasn’t been much in these encounters. Since then, only one game has been won by more than a single goal margin (Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Bristol Rovers, 2010), while seven of the last fifteen matches have ended in draws, including five of the last seven.

Overall, Plymouth Argyle have faced Bristol Rovers in 140 competitive matches, winning 58 and losing 42. Argyle haven’t won any of their last five fixtures at the Memorial Stadium.


 

This weekend, I had to sit with the home fans because of the EFL