A damaging spill, dugout drama and two red cards ... the story of Bristol Rovers 1 Rotherham United 0

He beat his fists into the ground in frustration.

Those same hard hands that can get to a ball but don't possess the softness to hold on to it.

Just over half an hour had been played in the south-west sunshine and Rotherham United had fallen behind.

Yet again, Ted Cann had palmed a shot into the path of an opposing player. Yet again, the opposition had scored from it.

Already, it's become a recurring theme this season, and it's one that, in all likelihood, will cost the goalkeeper his place.

Bristol Rovers, managed by former Millers boss Steve Evans, were at the summit of the League Two table when they kicked off and still in pole position when the final whistle blew at the Memorial Ground.

The Millers, starting in 13th spot on Saturday, after three games without a loss, slipped to 17th.

There hadn't been too much between the teams.

"Obviously, we're disappointed," said assistant head coach Steve Agnew.

Yes, Agnew, not head coach Alex Bruce. The latter had been sent off in stoppage time along with Rovers number two Paul Raynor following a touchline altercation that involved a kick from one and a push from the other.

Agnew continued: "We knew it was going to be a really difficult game. Bristol Rovers are a direct, physical team and they do what they do well. We had to stand up to that battle, and I thought for the majority of the game we did that.

"We made a mistake for the goal. Our backline came into midfield and we left slots for them to get in behind and they punished us. Apart from that, I thought there wasn't a lot in it. We huffed and puffed and probably didn't have enough quality with the ball. Our passing was sloppy at times.

"The lads kept going. There's spirit and determination in a new group that's come together. They really worked hard for each other. The chance at the end that hit the bar … if that had gone in, it was something the boys would have deserved."

All true except maybe that very last bit.

It was close - "a hard-fought three points," said Evans - but Rovers were worthy of their victory that equalled a club record of 10 successive home wins.

Between two well-matched sides, it pretty much boiled down to this: Bristol made fewer errors in possession than Rotherham. And they didn't offer any gifts.

They went ahead when Tommy Leigh's pass sent Bobby Kamwa  scampering down the left flank beyond the visitors' defence. The angle favoured Cann, and the shot wasn't a strong one, but it was parried into the danger zone where Leigh was lurking to fire the ball into a near-unguarded net.

"Exactly that," said Agnew when the subject of too many Millers short passes going astray was raised. "We've been guilty of that in previous games. It cost us today. We'll review the game. The players are all hurting. They're all disappointed, they're all angry, they're all annoyed."

Bruce, normally as calm and controlled as any boss can be, was dismissed in the dying seconds of a second half in which his side had shown a marked improvement on their first-half standards.

Delaying tactics were employed by Rovers when the ball entered their dugout and the Rotherham man took a kick on the hand from Raynor when he raced into enemy territory and bent down to retrieve it.

Bruce responded with a forceful shove to the chest, and being inanely showered in water,as he was walking away, by a Rovers fan plenty old enough to know better, did little to cool his ire.

Rotherham fans - more than 400 of them who back their team from start to finish - quite appreciated his show of passion and he was named Man of the Match by the official supporters club.

Evans pleaded his innocence, falsely claiming he'd been sitting down during the flashpoint, but didn't escape a booking.

With 20 minutes to go, Cann reacted sharply to divert a fiercely-struck Kofi Balmer volley onto the bar, yet no-one really saw it as redemption for his earlier lapse.

Late, late on, the Millers piled on the pressure and a purely-struck, last-gasp 12-yarder from Fabio Tavares rose an inch too high and crashed off the woodwork before Paul Mullin's back-heel was blocked.

"The players felt at half-time that they could go on and win the game," Agnew said. "That's what us, as a coaching staff, felt as well. But we never really had enough quality to create enough chances.

"Bristol Rovers are okay, but they never really caused us many problems. I think we were the victim of our own mistakes, losing possession and allowing them to break on us,

"The lads stood up to set-plays well. They competed well in the aerial battle and on second balls. We're going to take the positives out of it. It's been a tough start to the season. It's a new group of players. They're a resilient bunch and they've got a tight togetherness.

"Young players will make mistakes, and we have to accept that. How quickly can they learn? That's the conversation we've had in the dressing room after the game in there. We showed passion and energy towards the end of the game. I'm sure that will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season."

'Fight to the end' has been part of Bruce's mantra in his first few months in the hot-seat, and he took his own words too literally, sending Raynor careering backwards with the power of his 93rd-minute retaliation.

But it wasn't the most significant push of the day.

That one belonged to Cann when those questionable hands set his side on the way to defeat.