Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor saw a change in formation pay off spectacularly as his side came from two goals down to defeat play-off-chasing Stevenage 3-2 in a thriller at the Lamex Stadium.
The Pirates began the game playing 3-4-3 but found themselves in deep trouble before Taylor replaced defender Elkan Baggott with winger Scott Sinclair after 28 minutes.
With four at the back, Rovers came surging back against a side pushing for the play-offs in League One, with a wonderful strike from captain Antony Evans completing a memorable turnaround.
Taylor said: “It could have been [anyone to come off], but when you change from a back three to a back four you take off one of your centre-halves.
“James Wilson’s, similar to Scotty’s, experience shone as the game went on and Tristan [Crama] has got good legs as well.
“I hope he [Baggott] understands it, I don’t think he’ll like it – nobody likes being dragged – but it was very much needs must in that moment.
“We made changes, personnel and formation-wise, that seemed to settle them a little bit and gave us a better out in terms of the game, and then we started to play.
“Once we started to play, we needed a little bit more to believe in and LT’s [Luke Thomas] moment was a big moment for us because that gave us more belief and more feeling that we were in the game, and then two quality goals.”
Stevenage led 2-0 after 24 minutes through Kane Hemmings’ close-range finish and Jake Forster-Caskey, but Bristol Rovers had a lifeline when Thomas bent a superb effort into the bottom corner.
Evans then set up Chris Martin for the equaliser before smashing in what turned out to be the winner from 25 yards, before Kamil Conteh was sent off in stoppage time for the Pirates.
Stevenage boss Steve Evans said: “We just got a little bit complacent – well, a lot complacent.
“They get the goal completely against the run of play to bring themselves back into the game, we started on the front foot, I think we were very comfortable at half-time.
“I think we were comfortable at the start of the second half, there’s no issues in the game.
“I think there’s a big decision in the game – their boy Evans, who’s a really good player, scores a great goal and makes one, he should be off.
“He’s committed a number of fouls, but one in particular on the edge of their box.
“They get the [second] goal because we let a really good striker get across us and score a goal and the third goal was a great strike, but it’s fair to say in the second half we were way off the pace.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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