The opening fifteen minutes of the game were a fairly turgid affair and belied what was to come. The hosts were overhitting and misplacing passes and struggling to gain any momentum. St Austell began to take advantage of Rovers' issues and stated to get on top of the game but only had one shot into the side netting to show for it. The best chance actually fell to Rovers when Jack Dancey crashed a header off the crossbar from a corner.

The turning point in the game came in the 19th minute when the visitors made the most of some poor defending. What seemed like a series of errors led to St Austell's Neil Slateford curling in a low shot from the edge of the box for the opening goal. But the goal sparked Rovers into life and they started to put some moves together. A series of chances followed as Rovers got back on top. Will Hailston saw a shot saved and another flash past the post whilst Milo Murgatroyd was causing a number of issues on the left.

The equaliser came in the 41st minute when Callum English-Brown combined with Murgatroyd who squared the ball to Kye Simpson who tucked the ball away from close range. A second should have followed moments later when Simpson crossed the ball to the far post where Dan Dyke was lurking but he somehow lashed the ball over the bar when it seemed easier to score.

Rovers now had the momentum going into the second half and saw plenty of the ball in the opening minutes without causing Andy Collings too many issues in the St Austell goal. Rovers took the lead in stunning style when an attack by St Austell broke down Rovers' keeper, Dan Jackson, threw the ball out to Milo Murgatroyd who was deep in his own half. He ran from there into the St Austell box evading a challenge on the way before neatly slipping the ball past the keeper. Surely his second goal of the season contender!

St Austell were still seeing some of the ball but the Rovers defence was coping well and their third came from another attack from the visitors that was broken down in the 63rd minute. Sam Hill picked the ball up deep into his own half and threaded a perfect ball through to Kye Simpson to run onto and go one on one with the keeper. With confidence flowing there was never going to be any other outcome...

A flurry of substitutions followed which included a second debut from Gorge Fowler who replaced Will Hailston. In the 75th minute another substitute, Dan McBeam, picked up the ball on the half way line and lofted a perfect pass over the top for Simpson who finished with style to complete his hat-trick.

With the game now effectively over the final minutes Rovers relaxed a little. But maybe a little too much as they allowed St Austell a late goal when an unchallenged Adam Carter was able to nod in a cross in the 86th minute.

The goal took a little of the gloss of what had been, for the most part, a fine performance by the home team.

With his hat-trick, the man of the match was Kye Simpson!