Every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this article is correct. Not all lineups are included, so if you are able to assist with filling in any gaps, or know of games not shown, please do get in touch.

08/07/2016 Mangotsfield United (A) Attendance 1,400 (est) Referee Savvas Yianni

Having taken his side to promotion from League Two to League One and fended off an approach from Leeds United to take over the managerial reins at Elland Road, Darrell Clarke saw his side begin pre-season preparations for the 2016/17 campaign at Cossham Street, Mangotsfield.

On Friday July 8th a Rovers XI ran out 5-3 winners against the non-league outfit, the goals being scored by Rory Gaffney, Cristian Montano, Ryan Broom (2) and James Clarke. On target for the home side were Ryan Batten, Kerry Morgan and Ben Bament.

Mangotsfield took a third minute lead after goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall had fumbled a shot from George Lloyd. Full back Tyler Lyttle touched the loose ball back to the keeper and conceded an indirect free kick as it was adjudged to have been a backpass.

With all Rovers players on the line, Matt Groves touched the free kick to Batten who blasted his effort high into the net.

Rovers were level on 21 minutes when the home side failed to clear a Chris Lines corner from the right and Gaffney was on hand to touch the ball home from close range.

Rovers took the lead with an outstanding goal on 41 minutes. Montano was the goalscorer, but it was created by a fine piece of individual skill from Byron Moore who received the ball in his own half and facing his own goal. He set off on a run into the Mangotsfield half before finding Montano with a defence splitting pass and the midfielder comfortably finished.

Three minutes into the second half the home side equalised when Rovers failed to cut out a low ball into their box and Morgan slotted the ball home at the back post.

With 58 minutes on the clock Broom picked the ball up out on the right and beat two players on his way into the box before lashing a ferocious drive past goalkeeper Kyle Phillips.

Two minutes later Broom scored again, following a mistake by Scott Brice which allowed Jermaine Easter a shooting opportunity. His effort was parried into the path of Broom by Phillips and he fired the ball home.

Five minutes from time Bament turned in the area and fired a shot past Mildenhall to make it 4-3 but a minute later Rovers restored their two goal advantage when Clarke powered home a header at the back post to register his first ever senior goal.

An estimated crowd of 1,400 saw these sides in action:

Bristol Rovers: Steve Mildenhall, Tyler Lyttle (Lewis Ellington, 61), James Clarke, Alfie Kilgour (Toby Rennie, 70), Danny Greenslade, Cristian Montano, Liam Lawrence (Connor Jones, 51), Chris Lines, Byron Moore (Ryan Broom, 46), Rory Gaffney (Jamie Lucas, 32), Luke James (Jermaine Easter, 46).

Mangotsfield United: Kyle Phillips (Callum Flynn, 85), Ryan Batten, Tom Parrinello (Jordan Williams, 61), Tom Warren (Ben Bament, 46), Scott Brice, Brad Abraham, Kyle Knott (Joe Hillard, 70), Dale Evans (Lewis Hogg, 13), George Lloyd, Liam Monelle (Kerry Morgan, 46), Matt Groves (Ryan Bath, 76).

Substitute: Taylor McCormack

Parrinello, Brice, Evans, Hogg and Groves had all been on Rovers books at one time or another.

09/07/2016 Salisbury FC (A) Attendance Unknown Referee Brendan Malone

The following day Clarke took his side back to his former club, Salisbury, and saw them record a comfortable 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Ellis Harrison, Ollie Clarke and Billy Bodin.

Rovers took an 18th minute lead when Harrison scored from the penalty spot after Bodin had been upended by Ashton Lee.

Twenty minutes later the lead was doubled when Clarke was on hand to finish off a superb move. The home side lost possession on the halfway line and Jake Gosling picked up the ball and picked out Bodin with an incisive pass. He, in turn, found Clarke who comfortably beat goalkeeper Charlie Searle from 12 yards.

The third goal arrived with 66 minutes on the clock when Harrison beat two defenders and cut the ball back to the unmarked Bodin who slotted the ball past Searle from six yards.

Bristol Rovers: Will Puddy, Daniel Leadbitter (Alfie Kilgour, 46), Tom Lockyer, Chad Field, Lee Brown (Hammed Lawal, 46), Stuart Sinclair (Jay Malpas, 46), Ollie Clarke (Jamie Lucas, 60), Jake Gosling, Billy Bodin, Ellis Harrison, Ryan Broom.

Salisbury: Charlie Searle (Nathan Ball, 76), George Coulson (Josh Warren, 46), Ashton Leigh (Ed Perrett, 46) (Adam Flint, 61), Tom Whelan, Steve Walker (Seb Dawes, 46), Elliot Wheeler, Daniel Ano (Joe Sanger, 25), Lewis Benson, Justin Bennett, Brandon Mundy (Charlie Blake, 82), Danny Young (Mo Ahmed, 66).

Substitute: Sam Roberts

12/07/2016 Bath City (A) Attendance 1,127 Referee Savvas Yianni

Next up, on July 12th, was a visit to Twerton Park for a match against Bath City which Rovers won 1-0 courtesy of a James Clarke goal.

The goal arrived in the 69th minute when Clarke headed past Steve Phillips following a corner taken by a triallist midfielder.

Phillips was one of three Bath players who had previously spent time with Rovers, the others being George Rigg and Shaquille Hunter.

Bristol Rovers: Will Puddy, Daniel Leadbitter, James Clarke, Tom Lockyer (Alfie Kilgour, 33), Peter Hartley, Lee Brown, Ollie Clarke, Ellis Harrison, Jake Gosling, Chris Lines, Billy Bodin.

Substitutes (all used at the start of the second half): Jermaine Easter, Danny Greenslade, Byron Moore, Tyler Lyttle, Ryan Broom, Jay Malpas, Luke James, Triallist

Bath City: Steve Phillips, George Rigg, Dan Ball, Jack Batten, Chas Hemmings, Manny Monthe, Lee Marshall, Frankie Artus, Stuart Fleetwood, Nick McCootie, Billy Murphy.

Substitutes (start of the second half): Eilan Gordan, Andrew Ellington, Ben Last, Andy Watkins, Ronald Huth, Shaquille Hunter, Dan Bowman (60), Jordan Williams (66), Josh Hutchinson (69), Ben Last (78)

Attendance: 1,127

13/07/2016 Weston super Mare (A) Attendance 820 Referee Savvas Yianni

One day later and Rovers were on the road again, down to the Woodspring Stadium to take on Weston super Mare where a 3-1 win was achieved thanks goals by Rory Gaffney, Jermaine Easter and Jamie Lucas while former Rovers player Eliot Richards was on target for the home side.

Gaffney’s goal arrived after only ten minutes when he powered home a header past goalkeeper Luke Purnell following a Liam Lawrence free kick.

Ten minutes later Byron Moore was brought down in the area by Clayton Fortune and Easter confidently stroked the resulting spot past Purnell.

Weston’s goal arrived on 39 minutes when Jake Mawford evaded a challenge from Steve Mildenhall, who had rushed off his line in an attempt to clear any danger and fed a pass to Tristan Plummer. His subsequent shot was heading well wide of goal before Richards stepped in and fired the ball home.

Lucas made it 3-1 a minute into the second half when he ran on to a ball from the right before slotting the ball past Purnell.

Bristol Rovers: Steve Mildenhall, Daniel Leadbitter, Alfie Kilgour, Peter Hartley, Danny Greenslade, Byron Moore, Stuart Sinclair, Liam Lawrence, Cristian Montano, Jermaine Easter, Rory Gaffney.

Substitutes (all used at the start of the second half): Lee Brown, Ollie Clarke, Jake Gosling, Jamie Lucas, Ryan Broom, Jay Malpas, Luke James, Triallist

The Rovers triallist in this game and the match against Bath was 19-year-old midfielder Sam Barratt who had played for Bracknell and Conference South side Maidenhead.

Weston super Mare: Luke Purnell, Sekani Simpson, Syd Camper, Jacob Cane, Ollie Barnes, Clayton Fortune, Joe McClennan, Tristan Plummer, Eliot Richards, Jake Mawford, Ashley Kington.

Substitutes (all used): Jake Buxton, Elliott Ripley, Kane Ingram, Darren Mullings, Ben Withey, Ash Tandey, Tyler Davis, Matthew Mattis, Danny Wring, Liam Kington

As well as Richards, both Ollie Barnes and Darren Mullings had spent time on Rovers books.

Referee Savvas Yianni was taking charge of his third pre-season game involving Rovers, having previously been in charge of the games at Mangotsfield and Bath!

Attendance: 820

16/07/2016 Exeter City (A) Attendance 1,247 Referee Lee Swabey

Having won four pre-season games, all against non-league opposition, Rovers were beaten 2-0 by Exeter City on July 16th in their first game against league opposition.

That game, at St James Park, saw the home side win with goals by Ryan Harley and Ollie Watkins.

A crowd of 1,247, which included 197 Rovers fans, saw the home side open the scoring after only eight minutes. Lee Holmes raced down the left flank before pulling the ball back to Harley and his shot from 12 yards was deflected past Will Puddy by Alfie Kilgour.

The lead was doubled on 37 minutes when Holmes cut in from the right and slipped a pass to Watkins who slotted a shot past Puddy as the keeper advanced off his line.

Rovers gave a runout to former Fulham defender Jordan Evans, a Welsh U-21 international, while Exeter’s manager was future Rover’s boss Paul Tisdale who included former Rovers youngster Jordan Tillson in his squad.

Also, in the squad was, as already mentioned, Ollie Watkins who is now starring in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Ethan Ampadu, currently playing in Serie A for Venezia, on loan from Chelsea.

Bristol Rovers: Will Puddy, Daniel Leadbitter (Ryan Broom, 67), Mark McChrystal (Danny Greenslade, 46), Ollie Clarke (Jay Malpas, 67), Ellis Harrison, Chris Lines, Billy Bodin (Cristian Montano, 46), Luke James, Alfie Kilgour, Sam Barratt (Liam Lawrence, 46), Jordan Evans.

Exeter City: Bobby Olejnik (James Hamon, 67), Lloyd James, Ryan Harley, Robbie Simpson, Lee Holmes, Ollie Watkins, Jordan Moore-Taylor, Jake Taylor, Troy Brown, Troy Archibald-Henville, Pierce Sweeney.

Substitutes (all used): Tom McCready, Jordan Storey (David Wheeler, 67), Nick Grimes (Ethan Ampadu, 67), Jordan Tillson, Toby Down, Joel Grant (Kyle Egan, 58), Jamie Reid, Connor Riley-Lowe, Matt Jay, Alex Byrne.

19/07/2016 Cirencester Town (A) Attendance Unknown Referee Rob Cockle

A young Rovers side took on Cirencester Town at the Corinium Stadium on July 19th and whilst I have the match programme and teamsheet I’ve been unable to track down the result, so if anyone can help please get in touch!

According to the teamsheet the sides lined up as follows.

Bristol Rovers: Charlie Phillips, Sam Blake, Sam Iles, Alfie Kilgour, Danny Greenslade, Connor Jones, Lewis Ellington, Ryan Broom, Jamie Lucas, Tyrone Tucker-Dickson, Dan Lammiman.

Substitutes: Liam Armstrong, Sam Hedges, Toby Rennie, Lewis Gilchrist

Cirencester Town: Harvey Rivers, Jon Else, Scott Bevan, Chris Taylor, Matt Liddiard, Charlie Griffin, Aidan Bennett, James Mortimer-Jones, Ross Langworthy, Lee Smith, Ollie Knight.

Substitutes: Elliott Green, Kalum Youngsam, Angus Brereton, Sam Farr, Lee Wort

20/07/2016 Aston Villa (H) Attendance 5,219 Referee Simon Hooper

One day later, on July 20th, Aston Villa visited the Memorial Stadium and were held to a 1-1 draw by Rovers in front of a crowd of 5,219.

Matty Taylor, on as a second half substitute, scored for Rovers while Jordan Ayew was on target for Villa.

Ayew gave the visitors the lead on 41 minutes with a stunning goal; he ran in from the left and across the area before unleashing a powerful drive into the corner of the net beyond the despairing dive of Steve Mildenhall.

Taylor, who was sent on at the start of the second half, equalised after 78 minutes. The striker picked the ball up in the middle of the pitch and shrugged off a couple of challenges as he made his way to the edge of the area before beating goalkeeper Mark Bunn with a low drive.

Bristol Rovers: Steve Mildenhall (Will Puddy, 62), Daniel Leadbitter( Ryan Broom, 62), Lee Brown (Danny Greenslade, 62), Mark McChrystal, Lee Mansell (Ollie Clarke, 46), Liam Lawrence (Jake Gosling, 46), Jermaine Easter, Byron Moore (Cristian Montano, 46) (Alfie Kilgour, 82), Billy Bodin (Luke James, 46), Stuart Sinclair, Rory Gaffney (Matty Taylor, 46).

Aston Villa: Pierluigi Gollini (Mark Bunn, 46), Nathan Baker (Joleon Lescott, 46), Joe Bennett (Aly Cissoko, 60), Jores Okore, Ashley Westwood (Gary Gardner, 60), Jordan Ayew (Scott Sinclair, 60), Alan Hutton (Tommy Elphick, 60), Jack Grealish, Aaron Tshibola (Idrissa Gueye, 60), Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (Rudy Gestede, 60), Andre Green.

Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo included former Rovers youngster Scott Sinclair in his squad, as well as England defender Joleon Lescott (brother of former Rovers defender Aaron) and current England and Manchester City star Jack Grealish.

23/07/2016 Swansea City (H) Attendance 4,365 Referee Lee Probert

Swansea City arrived at the Memorial Stadium on July 23rd and in front of a crowd of 4,365 they ran out 5-1 winners.

Luke James scored for Rovers while Andre Ayew (whose brother Jordan had scored against Rovers just three days earlier) weighed in with a goal, while Leroy Fer, Stephen Kingsley, Kyle Naughton and Wayne Routledge also found the target.

Ayew opened the scoring after just five minutes when he curled a sublime 20 yard free kick past Steve Mildenhall, and Fer added a second eight minutes later, slotting the ball past the beleaguered Mildenhall at the end of a 30 yard run from the halfway line.

Kingsley’s intended cross sailed over Mildenhall’s head and nestled in the back of the net for goal number three, on 19 minutes, and Naughton added the fourth goal on the stroke of half time, beating Mildenhall with an angled drive.

Five minutes into the second half James wriggled past three challenges before drilling the ball past goalkeeper Kristopher Nordfelt, but Swansea’s Routledge added goal number five after 68 minutes when he ran on to Jack Cork’s through ball before rolling the ball past second half substitute Will Puddy.

Former Rovers loanee Oli McBurnie was included in the Swansea squad.

Bristol Rovers: Steve Mildenhall (Will Puddy, 62), Daniel Leadbitter, Alfie Kilgour, Mark McChrystal, Lee Brown, Jake Gosling (Lee Mansell, 46) (Ryan Broom, 87), Byron Moore (Chris Lines, 46), Stuart Sinclair (Jermaine Easter, 46), Ollie Clarke (Liam Lawrence, 46), Matty Taylor (Ellis Harrison, 46), Billy Bodin (Luke James, 46).

Substitutes: Danny Greenslade, Rory Gaffney

Swansea City: Kristopher Nordfelt (Gerhard Trammel, 62), Jordi Amat (Mike Van Der Hoom, 77), Leon Britton (Jay Culton, 62), Leroy Fer (Adam King, 77), Andre Ayew (Oli McBurnie, 62), Nathan Dyer (Modou Barrow, 77), Wayne Routledge (Kenji Gore, 80), Jack Cork, Kyle Naughton, Federico Fernandez, Stepman Kingsley (Angel Rangel, 62).

26/07/2016 Sabadell (A) Attendance Unknown Referee Unknown

Following that game Rovers embarked on a five-day training camp in Spain, which took in a game against Sabadell on July 26th.

However, that match, against a side popular with Rovers supporters due to the fact that they also played in blue and white quarters (and are known as the brothers in quarters), was lost 3-0.

31/07/2016 Cheltenham Town (H) Attendance 1,607 Referee Simon Hooper

The final pre-season game took place at the Memorial Stadium on July 31st when Cheltenham Town were the visitors.

Rovers ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, thanks to goals by Ellis Harrison, Chris Lines and Matty Taylor.

Harrison and Lines scored in the first half, in the 6th and 39th minutes respectively, while Taylor’s goal arrived in the 53rd minute of a game watched by a crowd of 1,607.

Former Rovers midfielder Harry Pell was in the Cheltenham starting lineup.

Bristol Rovers: Will Puddy (Steve Mildenhall, 46), James Clarke (Jermaine Easter, 61)), Tom Lockyer (Mark McChrystal, 61), Peter Hartley (Alfie Kilgour, 61), Ryan Broom, Liam Lawrence (Chris Lines, 34), Stuart Sinclair (Billy Bodin, 61), Ollie Clarke (Danny Greenslade, 61), Lee Brown (Jake Gosling, 61), Matty Taylor (Luke James, 61), Ellis Harrison (Rory Gaffney, 46).

Cheltenham Town: Max O’Leary, Josh Lelan (Dan Whitehead, 46), Daniel O’Shaughnessy, James Jennings, Jack Bartthram (Kyle Storer, 46), Asa Hall, Harry Pell (James Rowe, 46), James Dayton (Amari Morgan-Smith, 46), Jordan Cranston (Billy Waters, 73), Dan Holman (Jordan Lymn, 79), Danny Wright.

Substitutes: Rhys Lovett