Action returned to Burroughs park after an enforced weekend off the previous week which saw the whole ESL program washed out except this time it was FA Vase action and a place in the last 64 up for grabs.
Cockfosters were today's visitors on this very bright but chilly afternoon,the pitch in near perfect condition, and a healthy crowd in excess of 105 were here to soak up the atmosphere.
Rovers kicked off proceedings however were immediately on the back foot and in the opening 30 seconds Cockfosters Stuart Blackburne somehow found himself one on one with Dale Brightly only for his attempt to go wide and an early lucky escape for Rovers.
On 2 minutes Rovers attacked and after some great work by Billy Radley won a corner. Dave Collins delivered a superb ball in and Jay Smiths glancing header at the near post was saved well by Rob Blackburne in the Cockfosters goal.
On 5 minutes there was a lengthy delay while Cockfosters Stuart Blackburne received treatment after taking an awkward knock however the forward returned to the fray and continued.
For the next 15 minutes it was the visitors who looked the better with a succession of corners with Jack Cook going close and Stuart Blackburne out jumping the Rovers rearguard on to see his effort saved well at the foot of the post by Dale Brightly.
Stuart Hepburn also found himself in the book after a needless tug on an opponent.
It looked likely it would be the visitors who would score first however Rovers broke and visiting skipper Fergus Moore gave away a needless foul on Jay Smith in a dangerous area. Dave Collins took the kick which was deflected behind for a corner. Ash Hawkins took the corner which was met on the volley by player boss Dan Trenkel. The defender on the line looked to clear however the ball had clearly crossed the line and after a nod of approval from the Assistant Referee on the far side Referee Valentine Anekwe signaled for a goal and Rovers were 1-0 up against the run of play it has to be said.
On 23 minutes a cynical foul by the visitors James Rolfe earned him just a talking to from the referee however the referees inconsistency let him off with just a talking to. The foul was worse than Hepburns. Unfortunately the refereeing display proved inconsistent throughout and the 50/50 decisions more likely to go the way of the visitors.
There were little in the way of chances to report for the remainder of the half with only a corner for the visitors cleared by Trenkel and a superb run and cross from Max Kent which was cleared the only ones of note and Rovers went in 1-0 to the good.
The second half kicked off and after a minute Rovers thought they should've had a penalty when Aaron Baldwin appeared to be brought down in the box only for the referee to wave it away. Baldwin found himself in the book for his protest.
The next 10 minutes were a little scrappy with only a Dave Collins shot any attempt on goal in that period and Rovers made their first change on 58 minutes when Gary Paterson came on for Aaron Baldwin.
A minute later on 59 minutes Stuart Blackburne saw his effort hit the post for the visitors.
Cockfosters made a change with David Ansell coming off and replaced by Adam Ali.
On 63 minutes Jay Smith saw his shot comfortably saved.
Rovers made another change on 70 minutes when Joe Skeels replaced Ash Hawkins who we thought had a decent game however Joe was equally as effective when he came on it has to be said.
Cockfosters Phil Kane was booked on 75 minutes for what appeared to be dissent.
On 85 minutes the game was laid to rest when Gary Patersons persistence saw him take on two defenders and the keeper and still have the ball. Pato saw just a glimpse of space between keeper and Fergus Moore on the line and place his shot perfectly to make it 2-0 to Rovers. The visitors were clearly dejected and rightly so as they had been the better side most of the afternoon.
The visitors made another couple of changes with impressive Stuart Blackburne and James Fraser coming off to be replaced by Luke Durnin and Josiah Hunte. Rovers also replaced Dan Trenkel with Sammy Knott.
As the game petered out there were bookings for Gary Paterson and Nick Skelton along with Cockfosters James Rolfe after a crunching tackle between both men.
Rovers saw out the final moments with Sammy Knott running the ball into the corner to kill time. The referee blew and Sammy went to shake the hand of Fergus Moore only for the visitors skipper to shove him in the face and receive a straight red for his actions which was such a shame as it hadn't been a malicious encounter at all.
Cockfosters will feel they should've had something from the game which is probably right. They were the better side however Rovers can thank their solid defence marshalled by man of the match Dale Brightly who dealt with everything this afternoon.
It finished Rovers 2-0 Cockfosters and hopefully a nice draw in the next round.