ROVERS' travelling support at Villa Park last night received a pat on the back from Sam Allardyce.

"Our fans were absolutely brilliant," said the manager. "They were doing a lot of singing from the start and carried on all the way through whether we were in front or trailing.

"The players were keen to get across to them at the final whistle to show their appreciation, but unfortunately the pitch invasion put paid to that.

"So, I would like to just say 'thank-you' to everyone who went along.

"We gave the fans a bit of excitement with our great start and comeback, not to mention some quality goals, and they never stopped singing and supporting the team."