Bristol Rovers traveled to Broadfield Stadium on 3 September 2011 for their first ever match against Crawley Town. The league newcomers, who were the bookies' pre-season favourites for the title, pulled off a comprehensive 4–1 win, dropping Rovers to mid-table in League Two and putting themselves at the top of the division. Two former Rovers goalkeepers were included in Crawley's squad–Michel Kuipers played the full 90 minutes and Scott Shearer was an unused substitute.