ROVERS avoided a potential banana skin on Saturday as we ran out comfortable 3-1 winners against Corby Town of the Conference North in the first round of the FA Cup.

Perhaps the score line flattered us, but the result was never really in doubt after a special second goal from Mustapha Carayol.

Scott McGleish opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Carayol was been tripped in the area midway through the opening period, and in truth, the Gas should have been out of sight by the interval. But yet again, our worrying profligacy in front of goal manifested itself.

Despite dominating the first half, Rovers failed to kill off the tie and invited a resurgent Corby to attack after the break. The Conference North outfit duly obliged and equalised shortly after the hour mark.

Better opponents may have capitalised on Rovers’ generosity but the impressive Carayol swung the game back in Rovers’ favour after a driving run and unstoppable 30-yard strike on 74 minutes. Corby were visibly tiring and Chris Zebroski’s headed goal put the tie beyond reach in the final minutes of the game.

A good FA Cup run now holds greater significance after our disappointingly inconsistent start to the league campaign and early exits from the other knockout competitions. Buckle and the players need to give long-suffering Gasheads something to cheer about and the opportunity presents itself on 4 December against Southern Premier minnows AFC Totton.

Rovers will be wary of a trip to Hampshire against a team whose passage to the second round was guaranteed by an 8-1 demolition of Bradford Park Avenue. Gasheads have only been allocated 245 tickets at Totton’s tiny Testwood Stadium home, so the news that the fixture is one of three live televised games that weekend will be welcome.

Attention must now turn back to the league with the visit of relegation-threatened Barnet on Saturday. It is imperative that the team iron out the defensive frailties that have haunted us this season and put a meaningful run together. It’s not too late to put ourselves into playoff contention, but the chronic inconsistency which has been the hallmark of Rovers’ season so far must be banished.

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