Half-time: Bristol Rovers 0 Yeovil Town 0

Bristol Rovers and Yeovil are still goalless after the opening period of tonight's Johstone's Paint Trophy first round clash at the Memorial Stadium.

Mark McGhee had resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes – offering most of the players who performed so poorly in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at the hands of Morecambe an opportunity to redeem themselves.

It was Rovers that made most of the early-running by carving out a few tame attempts from distance off the boots of Matt Gill and Wayne Brown.

Yeovil started to find a bit of rhythm as the first quarter-of-an-hour drew to a close and almost opened the scoring when defender Luke Ayling glanced the crossbar with a hooked shot from a tight angle following a set-piece.

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Lee Brown then went close when his swirling free-kick from the right-hand touchline bounced across the face of goal unhindered before creeping wide of the far post.

Clarkson was the next to try his luck with a more centrally-placed free-kick from just outside the penalty area – but his effort flew harmlessly over the crossbar before Michael Smith had a 'goal' ruled out after Matt Gill was found to have fouled goalkeeper Marek Stech in the scramble before the ball was converted. 

Earlier, McGhee had drafted Cian Bolger in at the heart of defence to prompt a re-shuffle in which striker Matt Harrold, who is suffering with a minor hamstring complaint, was the only player from Saturday's reverse to miss out.

Eliot Richards moved up front alongside Clarkson, Smith filled in on the right side of midfield and Adam Virgo shuffled across from the centre of defence to play at right-back.

Yeovil boss Gary Johnson, meanwhile, had showed his intention to make progress in the competition by naming the same side that secured a 2-1 victory over Doncaster at Huish Park on Saturday.

Rovers: Walker; Virgo, Bolger, Parkes, Paterson; Smith, Gill, W Brown, L Brown; Clarkson, Harrold. Subs: Gough, Broghammer, Norburn, Anyinsah, Clarke.

Yeovil: Stech; Ayling, Hinds, Webster, McAllister; Marsh-Brown, Blizzard, Upson, Foley; Hayter, Reid. Subs: Stewart, Young, Ralph, Ince, Ugwu.