The Bristol Rovers bandwagon rolls on as we made it seven games unbeaten in all competitions after last Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Rotherham United in League One, writes Steve Knowlson.

The Memorial Stadium is fast becoming a fortress with only Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion returning from BS7 with a victory this term. Last week, Chelsea’s Under-21s were the latest team to come away from the Mem with nothing after being beaten by a strong Rovers squad in the EFL Trophy.

Relegated Championship outfit Rotherham provided a sterner test for Graham Coughlan’s men, retaining much of last season’s squad and looking to bounce back to the second tier at the first attempt. However, despite the narrow score line Rovers were good value for their victory over the Millers and our Finnish international keeper, Anssi Jaakkola, only had a couple of meaningful saves to make over the 90 minutes.

Rover’s recent resurgence has been built upon a solid defensive foundation with the central trio of Craig, Kilgour and Davies improving week-on-week and amply protected by the excellence of Ed Upson.

Liam Sercombe’s return to form was much in evidence in his favoured central midfield berth, and it was his precise lob over the top that allowed Gas goal machine Jonson Clarke-Harris to run through, outmuscle the Rotherham defence and strike an unstoppable shot into the visitor’s net early in the second half.

That was JCH’s seventh goal of the campaign and his 19th in just 29 appearances in all competitions since signing in January. That’s fantastic form so Gasheads will be delighted to hear that the club and JCH’s representatives are sitting down to discuss extending his contract – with a number of Championship clubs reportedly sniffing around our talismanic marksman.

The visitors had started well but after Rovers took the lead they faded and it took several smart saves from Iversen in the Rotherham goal to keep the score down to 1-0.

The win takes us up to the dizzy heights of seventh in the early season table – although we are likely to slip this Saturday as a Bury-shaped hole in the League One schedule gives the team the weekend off while most of the rest of the division play as normal.