Brilliant individual strikes from Alex Rodman and Sam Nicholson helped Bristol Rovers ease their League One relegation fears with a 4-1 home win over Accrington.

The hosts took a 15th-minute lead when Luke Leahy ran unchallenged onto a Zain Westbrooke pass and squeezed his shot past advancing goalkeeper Toby Savin.

Rodman struck in first-half stoppage time with a sublime left-footed strike from the right corner of the box that sent the ball arrowing into the opposite top corner of the net.

Nicholson made it 3-0 after 67 minutes with another sweet strike from just outside the box and seconds later Westbrooke netted the fourth with a close-range finish.

Paul Smythe fired a 77th-minute consolation for Stanley with a fierce shot from an impossible-looking angle, but the result was sweet revenge for Rovers, beaten 6-1 in the reverse fixture this season.

Both sides were denied by the woodwork twice, Jonah Ayunga and Rodman for Rovers and Smythe and substitute Adam Phillips for Stanley.