Friendly Fixtures 2022/23

01/07/22 – Melksham Town – Attendance unknown, Referee Sam Read

09/07/22 – Porto – Attendance & Referee unknown

12/07/22 – Bath City – Attendance 1,908 Referee Said Ouchene

12/07/22 – Chippenham Town – Attendance 343 Referee unknown

16/07/22 – Swansea City – Attendance & Referee unknown

19/07/22 – Stoke City – Attendance unknown, Referee Simon Hooper

By the time Rovers travelled to Melksham, on 2nd July, for their opening pre-season friendly manager Joe Barton had already signed seven new players following his side’s relegation to League Two, and a number of them featured in this match.

There was also a welcome return of supporters to watch football again following the Covid epidemic.

Rovers dominated proceedings early on, but Aaron Collins, Nick Anderton and Collins again saw chances go begging.

However, with 18 minutes on the clock the home side took the lead when a misunderstanding between goalkeeper Jed Ward and Anderton led to the defender hitting a back pass beyond his team mate for an unfortunate own goal.

Rovers were level within a minute when Collins drilled a low shot into the corner of the net to record his first goal in a Rovers shirt.

Although enjoying the majority of possession for the remainder of the first half, Rovers were unable to find the back of the net again and the first half ended all square.

Barton made ten changes at the start of the second half and although Brandon Hanlon and Zain Westbrooke had chances to edge Rovers in front, there were no further goals

Bristol Rovers

First half: Jed Ward, Nick Anderton, Connor Taylor, Mark Hughes, Luca Hoole, Cam Hargreaves, Tom Mehew, Lucas Tomlinson, Ryan Jones, Jonah Ayunga, Aaron Collins.

Second Half: Triallist, Joe Budd, Alfie Kilgour, Sam Heal, Pablo Martinez, Tom Mehew (Jamie Egan, 60), Zain Westbrooke, Ollie Hulbert (Kinsly Murray, 60), (Kieran Phillips, 80), Zain Walker, Brandon Hanlan, Harvey Saunders.

Melksham Town Squad (as per teamsheet)

Kingsley Latham, Will Christopher, Ryan Morgan, Harry Rutty, Greg Tindle, Liam Monelle, Aiden Chainey, Albie Hopkins, Jack Ball, Phil Ormerod, Jake Mawford, Sayeed Ibraham, Ben Lodge, Seth Wain, Archie Taylor, Ollie Webb, Harvey Flippance.Second Half: Jed Ward, James Gibbons, Will Larvin, Alfie Kilgour, Sam Heal, Antony Evans, Zain Westbrooke, Josh Grant, Harvey Saunders, Ryan Loft, Ryan Jones

 Melksham Town Squad (lineup unknown): Connor Thompson, Will Christopher, Ryan Morgan, Aaron Parsons, Jaiden Pearce, Ollie Webb, Dave Thompson, Matt Hurley, Ralph Graham, Sam Hendy, Jay Malshanskyj, Albie Hopkins, Dan McBeam, Luke Ballinger, Sam Dowell.

Lineup, substitutes and time of substitutions unknown

Three days later, on 10th May, Rovers played a behind closed doors friendly against National League side Barnet and were beaten 3-0.

Jonah Ayunga fired wide with a long range effort  before the hosts took a tenth minute lead through Mason Bloomfield who headed past Ward following a corner.

Ryan Jones came close to equalising for Rovers but his cushioned header drifted wide of the upright, while Zain Westbrooke saw his free kick touched over the bar by the Barnet goalkeeper.

Barnet, though, doubled their lead on 35 minutes after former Rovers triallist Jamie Turley hit a low shot into an empty net when goalkeeper Ward was left grounded after being bundled over by another Barnet player.

Ward was replaced at the break by veteran shot stopper Stuart Nelson  and Joe Barton’s side created an early goalscoring opportunity but Jones was thwarted by a last ditch tackle as he prepared to shoot.

Both sides made a number of substitutions during the half, which interrupted the flow of play and although Rovers created a number of goalscoring opportunities a late goal by one of Barnet’s triallists gave them a three goal advantage.

Bristol Rovers: Jed Ward (Stuart Nelson, 45), Mark Hughes (Joe Budd, 65), Nick Anderton (Jamie Egan, 65), Luca Hoole, Pablo Martinez, Zain Westbrooke (Harvey Greenslade, 75), Cam Hargreaves (Tyron Thomson, 75), Ryan Jones (Lucas Tomlinson, 75), Harvey Saunders (Tom Mehew, 65), Aaron Collins (Zain Walker, 60), Jonah Ayunga (Kinsly Murray, 75).

Barnet lineup and substitutions unknown. 

 As Rovers prepared to face Swansea City on 24th July the Welsh club dispensed with the services of their manager, Steve Cooper. The official line was that his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

The game against The Swans would have seen supporters back at the Mem for the first time in 16 months. The previous week had seen the friendly against Plymouth played behind closed doors. However, fans would have to provide proof of a double Covid vaccination or a negative lateral flow test before gaining admission.

As it happened, the match against Swansea didn’t take place after Swansea players tested positive on the morning of the game.

That left Rovers with just two games left as they prepared for the season’s opener against Mansfield Town at Field Mill.

The first of those games saw National League South side Havant & Waterlooville visit the Mem on 27th July and Clint Hill took charge of Rovers for the match as Joe Barton was unavailable.

It was unfortunate that there were no goals for Rovers fans to enjoy on their return to BS7 as the game ended goalless.

However, they were treated to a first glimpse of new signing Luke Thomas who, on this form, showed that he could become a firm favourite with Gasheads.

A fairly open first half saw few goalscoring opportunities created. Thomas saw a shot cleared off the line by a visiting defender, while Paul Rooney missed an easy chance to put Havant ahead.

Harry Anderson and Trevor Clarke went close for Rovers after the break before we saw the introduction of new goalkeeper James Belshaw for his first appearance in a Rovers shirt. What was probably the best chance of the game fell to Ryan Jones who saw goalkeeper Ross Warner make a fine save to deny him a goal.

Bristol Rovers: Anssi Jaakkola (James Belshaw, 61), Mark Hughes (Tom Mehew, 75), Luca Hoole, Nick Anderton (Harry Anderson, 46), Joe Budd, Zain Westbrooke (Zain Walker, 75), Josh Grant, Trevor Clarke (Ben Liddle, 75), Luke Thomas (Cam Hargreaves, 75), Aaron Collins (Ryan Jones, 46), Brandan Hanlon (Jamarni Langlais, 75).

Substitutes: Niall Lovelock, Owen Brain, Matt Reed.

Havant & Waterlooville: Ross Warner, Josh Passley, Joe Oastler, Sam Magri, Jake McCarthy, Paul Rooney, Joe Newton, Jamie Collins, Scott Rendell, Tommy Wright, James Roberts.

Substitutes: George McCullen, Mike Green, Alex Wall, Billy Clifford, Abdulai Baggie, Charlie Searle, Theo Widdrington.

Substitutions and timings of those used unknown

There were four players in the Havant & Waterlooville squad with Rovers connections; Scott Rendell, Alex Wall, Theo Widdrington and Abdulai Baggie. Only Baggie had failed to make a first team appearance whilst at the Memorial Stadium.

And so it was on to the fifth, and final, pre-season game which saw Oxford United arrive at the Mem on 31st July.

Paul Coutts was named in the starting lineup for the first time and the game began in a lively fashion as Harvey Saunders saw his close range effort well saved by goalkeeper Jack Stevens.

However, the first goal was scored by Oxford, after 15 minutes. Rovers failed to clear a corner taken by James Henry and Steve Seddon headed back across goal and saw his effort just about cross the line.

Rovers had an opportunity to equalise as the half drew to a close and following a foul on Mark Hughes on the edge of the Oxford area. Zain Westbrooke took the resulting free kick but sent his effort just wide of the upright.

There were just seconds of the half remaining when Joe Barton’s side did draw level. As Luke Thomas raced into the area he was brought down by John Mousinho and the on loan midfielder got up to chip his spot kick down the middle as Stevens dived to his left.

The lead was short lived, though, as Oxford went in front again two minutes into the second half. A ball over the top by Mark Sykes found James Henry in space and he hit a low shot beyond the reach of Anssi Jaakkola.

On the hour mark striker Brett Pitman entered the fray and he made an instant impact when his looping header from a Luca Hoole cross produced an outstanding fingertip save from Stevens.

With seven minutes remaining the striker scored his first Gas goal when he was on hand to head home from close range following Ben Liddle’s corner.

Just as it seemed as though the game would finish all square Pitman struck again. Spotting Stevens off his line, he lobbed the ball over the stranded keeper to give his side an unlikely late winner.

Bristol Rovers: Anssi Jaakkola, Mark Hughes, Luca Hoole, Josh Grant (Cam Hargreaves, 77), Joe Budd (Alfie Kilgour, 46), Trevor Clarke (Sion Spence, 77), Zain Westbrooke (Brett Pitman, 60), Harry Anderson (Cian Harries, 60), Luke Thomas (Ryan Jones, 70), Harvey Saunders (Zain Walker, 77), Paul Coutts (Ben Liddle, 70).

Substitutes: James Belshaw, Tom Mehew, Niall Lovelock.

Oxford United: Jack Stevens, Anthony Ford, Eliott Moore, John Mousinho, Steve Seddon, Cameron Brannagan, Mark Sykes, James Henry, Sam Winnall, Ryan Williams, Nathan Holland.

Substitutes: Simon Eastwood, Matty Taylor, Marcus McGuane, Daniel Agyei, Joel Cooper, Billy Bodin, Josh Johnson, Michael Elechi, Clinton Nosokhare.

Substitutions and timings of those used unknown.

Former Rovers players Matty Taylor and Billy Bodin were both included among the Oxford substitutes.

With grateful thanks to Keith Brookman for this article