ROVERS secured an unlikely victory at promotion-chasing Fleetwood on Saturday to give our survival hopes a massive boost.

The Pirates travelled to Lancashire with a depleted squad, leaving John Ward unable to even find a full quota of substitutes.

Only five of the seven spaces on the bench were taken up, while the failure to recruit any new faces last week was another blow.

Meanwhile big-spending Fleetwood had signed a new striker for a rumoured £200,000, so optimism ahead of the trip was at a low ebb.

Despite these setbacks a young Rovers side produced a hard-working display full of creativity, enterprise and endeavour. They confounded the odds with a stunning 3-0 victory, meaning we have now picked up seven points from a possible 12 under Ward.

The team spirit is firmly restored under the new manager’s guidance and if he can add one or two new players this week we have a great chance of staying up. On Saturday Woodards and Richards showed their quality with fine goals in the first-half, while young Ellis Harrison seized the opportunity given to him with a fearless display on his debut.

The excellent O’Toole put matters to rest with another quality goal early in the second half and Rovers could have scored more, with Hitchcock unlucky not to open his account.

Let’s hope the magnificent victory at Fleetwood, only our second on the road this season, also marks a turning point in our fortunes and we can follow it up with three points against Exeter, another promotion contender, at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

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