Draw At Weston, Defeat At Frome

Rovers completed their second weekend of pre-season action with a draw at Weston and a defeat at Frome this afternoon. The two Rovers XI's contained first team regulars and youth players to give every squad member a chance to improve their fitness levels.

The team that played out a 2-2 draw at Weston-super-Mare were lead by Shaun North and new development coach Marcus Stewart at the Woodspring Stadium. The first team players on display included Lee Brown, Chris Zebroski, Matt Gill, Ollie Norburn, Mustapha Carayol, Eliot Richards, David Clarkson and Adam Virgo, who scored a stunning half volley from 35 yards to make it 1-1 in the first half. The Gas went 2-1 down before hopeful signee Clarkson won a penalty and duly converted from the spot. There were no further goals in the game and it ended all square with the most impressive performances coming from Norburn and Brown.

Oliver Norburn

We lost at Frome courtesy of a great late effort from Harry Baker, when the Rovers team were mostly consisting of youth players. Michael Smith, Seanan Clucas, Matt Harrold, Wayne Brown, Kayne McLaggon, Joe Anyinsah and trialist Fabian Broghammer were the first team players who featured the AlderSmith stadium under manager Mark McGhee. There will be no alarm bells ringing because of the result as it is just a pre-season game, just like there would be no extreme excitement had we won.

MM will have learnt a lot and taken some positives today and I'm sure North and Stewart will report a number of plusses from their game too. With transfers set to be signed, sealed and delivered next week it could be an exciting 7 days before our next friendly against Yeovil Town at Huish Park.