Another away game, another all-too-familiar tale of woe for Bristol Rovers.

Yet again, the Pirates trooped off the pitch knowing they had matched an impressive Stockport side for large periods of the afternoon – particularly in the second half.

But yet again, costly defensive lapses were to leave them chasing the game for much of the afternoon.

The final scoreline flattered the Hatters, for their final goal came on the break in the dying seconds of the match when the visitors had committed men forward desperately searching for the equaliser their efforts deserved.

But the bottom line is that Rovers too often make it too easy for their opponents to score goals – the defensive resilience they had displayed against Tranmere a week earlier seemed like a distant memory when on-loan Oldham striker Craig Davies netted the first goal of his hat-trick in the 27th minute.

"We've got to start winning away from home because results haven't been good enough, regardless of performances," admitted Pirates skipper Stuart Campbell.

"We are sick of coming off the pitch and saying it was a decent performance but we got nothing from it. It's irrelevant because this was another defeat and now we have to pick ourselves up for a big game on Boxing Day."

The visitors had started positively enough, Stockport old boy Rickie Lambert shooting narrowly wide from 16 yards after five minutes.

Shortly afterwards, Stockport keeper Owain Fon Williams made a superb reaction save to keep out a deflected shot from Chris Lines.

Rovers then had a let off when Davies somehow managed to head wide from a yard out after Steve Phillips parried a cross which deflected to the striker off Craig Hinton.

But the marksman was in far less wasteful mood with the half-hour beckoning. By then, Stockport were causing problems from the flanks and when Tommy Rowe was allowed to deliver an angled cross towards the edge of Rovers' six-yard box, Davies duly converted with a crisp first-time finish.

With their tails up, County threatened to inflict further damage and Phillips needed to make a fingertip save when Carl Baker cut in from the right to send in a low shot.

But then came an equaliser out of virtually nothing, Craig Disley grabbing his first goal of the campaign when his left-foot shot from 22 yards evaded Williams' dive to skid into the bottom corner of the net.

Parity was short-lived however, and four minutes later Davies lost his marker to head home with ease after Anthony Pilkington had delivered a cross.

Stockport had looked the better of the two sides in the opening 45 minutes, but it was to be a different story after the break.

Six minutes after the re-start, Jo Kuffour caught James Tunnicliffe in possession inside his own box. But the central defender recovered sufficiently to get a vital touch on the ball and divert it to Williams, who hurriedly hacked it away.

Lambert fired high over the top after Campbell had found him with a low delivery from a free-kick, and Kuffour was then denied again as he tried to latch on to a flighted pass from Lines.

There was a suspicion the striker was tugged back as he shaped to shoot, but ultimately he was unable to get the ball out from under his feet to get a telling shot away.

Stockport were repeatedly being forced on to the back foot and Williams again came to their rescue with another superb save to deny Lambert, who crashed an 18-yard volley goalwards after Lines had provided the cross.

Substitutes Darryl Duffy and Ben Hunt also saw efforts go just the wrong side of the post as Rovers pressed hard for another leveller.

But in stoppage time, Davies took advantage of space at the back to break clear and smash home his third goal of the afternoon to put the outcome beyond doubt.

"I don't think the final result flattered us, although we didn't create that many goalscoring opportunities," said Stockport boss Jim Gannon.

"They threw people forward towards the end and maybe could have got an equaliser, but our lads stayed strong and in the end we got that crucial third goal to seal the game.

"Bristol Rovers' shooting was more clinical than ours and brought out the best in Owain – he's made some fantastic saves for us this season."

Campbell, however, was once again left to reflect on what might have been.

"We were on top for a good half-hour in the second half but couldn't get the equaliser," added the Rovers midfielder.

"They were defending for their lives and if anything Jo was a bit too honest when he was through because their lad had a tug at him – if he'd gone down we would probably have had a penalty."