Bristol Rovers players were booed off by their own fans after slipping into the League One relegation zone as Exeter secured a 2-1 win at the Memorial Stadium.

The Gas suffered a sixth straight defeat as first-half goals from Caleb Watts and Reece Cole paved the way for victory for their West Country rivals before Ruel Sotiriou’s classy 70th-minute finish briefly gave Rovers hope.

Watts put the Grecians in command after 11 minutes when he punished the home defence’s failure to clear by driving a low angled shot beyond Jed Ward’s dive.

Sotiriou almost levelled soon after but his low shot was saved by impressive on-loan Crystal Palace goalkeeper Joe Whitworth.

Cole strengthened Exeter’s grip on the contest three minutes before half-time in stunning style when he acrobatically volleyed Ilmari Niskanen’s cross past Ward.

After the hosts were booed off at half-time, Sotiriou sparked Inigo Calderon’s side into life with 20 minutes left when he slipped the ball past Whitworth to set up a tense finale.

Rovers youngster Kofi Shaw went close with an ambitious effort, but Gary Caldwell’s defence stood firm to secure three points that should be enough to secure their League One status.