First half from the New Lawn

Forest Green 0

Gateshead 0

Forest Green boss Ady Pennock opted to freshen things up from the team which beat AFC Telford on Tuesday.

Luke Rodgers and Kurtis Guthrie were handed their fist starts of the season with Elliott Frear and Christian Jolley dropping to the bench. Jon Parkin returned to the starting line-up in place of mid-week match winner Lee Hughes.

Gateshead, who started the day in second, started brightly enough against a Roves side, who boasting seven points from the last nine.

In driving rain, Rovers found their feet. Rob Sinclair was pulling the midfield strings and his 21st minute clipped pass from a Sam Wedgbury ball, released James Norwood, who stepped on the gas to see his dink superbly blocked by Heed keeper Adam Bartlett.

Gateshead rallied, but found Sam Russell in top form as he superbly gloved a point-blank Jon Shaw strike away after Tom Allan had opened Rovers up on 28 minutes.

A far from feisty encounter saw a yellow for Marcus Kelly following a coming together with Andrai Jones.

Rovers came close to taking the lead but, Bartlett denied Parkin with 10 minutes of a nip-and-tuck first half to go. The scampering Rodgers fed the burly striker, who fizzed his shot into the Heed keeper.

The North East side responded with former Forest Green striker Danny Wright heading over a great chance from an inviting Jones cross.

Russell had to be on the money again as he dived low to keep out an Alex Rodman hit from just outside the box with five minutes of the half to go.