Bristol Rovers hit magnificent seven against Scunthorpe to clinch promotion

With 83 minutes gone, the public address announcer politely requested for supporters to stay off the pitch. Perhaps he had a premonition and, frankly, who was he kidding? Two minutes later Bristol Rovers had put a seventh goal past an already relegated Scunthorpe to miraculously leapfrog Northampton on goals scored and into the final automatic League Two promotion place. The Home fans emptied from the Thatchers terrace to mob the goalscorer, Elliot Anderson, who has been a revelation since joining on loan from Newcastle in January and was the hosts’ creator in chief on a simply unforgettable afternoon. At that point players and staff from both teams shot down the tunnel, with the Rovers manager, Joey Barton, among those asking fans to return to the stands.

It was a fittingly barmy crescendo to a bonkers ride for those at a sold-out and rocking Memorial Stadium. Wael al-Qadi, the Rovers owner, ended up walking on to the pitch to plead with fans to keep their counsel for the remaining four minutes plus stoppage time before Barton took the unprecedented step of taking over the microphone to confirm the referee, Charles Breakspear, had threatened to abandon the game if supporters returned to the field a second time. “Please stay off the pitch,” Barton said in a message transmitted over the speakers, before both teams re-emerged about 15 minutes later.

By then, news of Northampton’s 3-1 victory at Barrow had already filtered through to fans.

At the start of the day fourth-placed Rovers, who were 17th in the division on New Year’s Day, were one of five teams down to Swindon Town in seventh hoping to secure third spot, although some fancied their chances more than others. At the outset they required a five-goal swing to go