Clevedon Town 1-5 Bristol Rovers (Friendly)

A young Rovers team thrashed Clevedon Town 5-1 at the Hand Stadium tonight to record pre-season win number 2. Matt Gill made his long awaited return from injury in the second half and was the oldest Rovers representative to make the field of play.

We fell behind to an Aron Robbins goal in the first half but an equaliser followed courtesy of Mitch Harding who converted a penalty beyond ex-Gas goalkeeper Danny Greaves. Harding, who had an impressive game, then scored a second goal when a strike took a deflection to wrong-foot Greaves. Trialist George Rigg then got in on the act by scoring a goal inside the penalty box following a Shaquille Hunter cross. Midfielder Jordan Goddard then scored a superb individual goal to make it 4-1 after cutting inside before Rigg netted his second to complete the rout, heading past the goalkeeper after an error in the home defence.

All in all it was a good workout for the team with Tom Lockyer very impressive in defence. Gill dictated the game on his return to the side which is a huge bonus and Alefe Santos looked lively when he replaced Hunter in the second half. There were two other trialists: Jake Green, formerly of Mansfield Town at full-back and Matty Whichelow, a winger formerly of Watford. Of the two it was Whichelow who looked the more impressive. He showed good pace, good skill and was aware of his defensive duties. If John Ward was impressed he could be the ideal player to come in and provide competition for a starting berth with our other young wide men.

Having cancelled this Friday's friendly meeting with Salisbury City due to injuries, Rovers final pre-season game comes on Sunday when they take on a Reading XI. After that it's down to business with the opening day trip to Exeter City.