An hour for Fabian in friendly
Bristol Rovers 0
Swindon Town 1
A Rovers youth/development team lost 0-1 to a more experienced Swindon Town side at their Cribbs Causeway training ground this afternoon.
The only goal of the game was scored by Jamie Reckord after 32 minutes when he headed in at the far post.
Fabian Broghammer played his first game since the injury he sustained in last summer's pre-season friendly at Hereford and Rovers included Bristol City defender Pierce Mitchell in their starting lineup.
It took a while for Rovers to get into the game and Conor Gough was called into action early on when he made a routine save.
Aaron Ward-Baptiste and Ellis Harrison both hit efforts wide of the mark before the goal, while Broghammer saw his free kick charged down by the Swindon defensive wall on 35 minutes.
Rovers grew into the game after the break and Mitch Harding was unlucky not to equalise when his close range effort was touched away by the Swindon keeper and Ward-Baptitse hit the rebound over the bar.
There were late opportunities for substitute Dominic Thomas, who fired just over the bar, and Harrison who volleyed just wide of the upright.
Rovers: Conor Gough, Josh Southway, Trey Anderson, Pierce Mitchell, Aaron Ward-Baptiste, Seanan Clucas (Dominic Thomas, 60), Jordan Goddard, Fabian Broghammer (Ryan Broome, 60), Ellis Harrison, Mitch Harding (Jay Malpas, 65).
Substitutes: Louis Ezwele, Kieran Preston
Development coach Marcus Stewart had this to say after the match; “I think our lads did really well and passed the ball with a purpose and we didn’t give Swindon too much time to dwell on the ball in our half of the pitch.
"All in all, it was pleasing, and we did have a lot of possession in their half without threatening too often in the final third. We weren't quite on the front foot as much as we might have been in their box.
"That's my only criticism really, because we did well against a more experienced side and the players went about their task really well.
"Fabian was great and can cause problems for most full backs. The way he played in the first half it was difficult to appreciate that was his first game since August and it was good to have him back.
"With regard to Pierce, he also did very well. He can play anywhere across the back four and is a right footer, so playing at left back was probably the worst place he could have been in a trial. Nevertheless, I thought he did well and he's someone we will have a closer look at."