Chris Lines went from hero to villain last night as Rovers lost 2-1 to high flying Portsmouth at The Memorial Stadium.
Lines came on as a 69th-minute sub and made an immediate impact when he stepped up to slot home from the spot to draw Rovers level after Ronan Curtis had handled when trying to clear a corner. Then 2 minutes after scoring the penalty Lines went in studs up on Portsmouth sub Brett Pitman and was shown a straight red after only being on the pitch for 9 minutes.
Rovers had falling behind after 32 minutes when Gareth Evans fired home past Adam Smith in the Rovers goal with a fierce drive. Rovers did create more chances and were unlucky on the night, Sercombe had a good chance for Rovers that he sliced wide and he also saw a long-range effort well saved.
Striker Tom Nichols who looked impressive was unlucky not to score from distance, forcing the Portsmouth keeper into fine save. Portsmouth made the extra man count when they hit the winner when Curtis scored with just 3 minutes remaining, Bennett nearly grabbed Rovers a point but again the Portsmouth keeper pulled off another good save.
Rovers slipped to 19th after last nights defeat and next face Southend at home on Saturday.
