A Bristol Rovers XI were beaten 3-1 by a spirited Bath City at Twerton Park on Tuesday. The National League side came from a goal down to take a deserved victory in the pre-season friendly.
Ryan Loft gave the Gas the lead inside a quarter of an hour, but an Alex Fletcher double had the Romans ahead at the break before Cody Cooke stretched their lead with a second-half penalty.
Rovers split their squad for friendlies at Bath and Chippenham Town on Tuesday evening, with the Gas winning that game 4-1 at Hardenhuish Park – with new signing John Marquis and Harvey Saunders bagging braces there.
The team that travelled to North East Somerset included the likes of Antony Evans, Aaron Collins and James Connolly, with all 11 starters completing the full 90 minutes in front of a 1,908-strong crowd.
The game started evenly before Loft lashed the Gas into a 12th-minute lead. Collins has carried the momentum of last term into pre-season and the opening goal was the product of one of many menacing sprints down the left. He angled a cross into the area with Harry Anderson in his sights but goalkeeper Joe Wright got a paw on the all, only diverting it into the path of Loft, who buried the chance mercilessly with Wright sprawling to his feet.
Cooke and Joe Raynes had chances for Bath, with Elliott Frear a thorn in Rovers’ left side. Still, the Gas were in the ascendancy, with the infamous Twerton slope doing little to affect the speed of their counterattacks.
But after a flowing move broke down with a slack touch from James Gibbons, Bath hit back with a leveller on the half hour. Frear peeled off into space on the left and curled a low cross into the six-yard area, where Fletcher was waiting to divert the ball into the back of the net.
The Romans claimed the lead nine minutes later. The Gas headed clear a dangerous corner but Danny Greenslade clipped the ball back into the area. Fletcher took it perfectly in his stride and finished expertly, lifting the ball over James Belshaw and into the net.
The Gas ought to have been level with the final meaningful act of the first half. Anderson found the run of Collins, but the striker's shot was scruffy. Loft hammered the loose ball into a blocking defender before Sam Finley showed poise to pick out the unmarked Gibbons, who was thwarted by a firm hand from Wright after taking aim at the bottom corner.
Barton made no changes at the break with the Gas taking their preparation for the upcoming campaign up a level, but they were further behind six minutes into the second half. Gibbons, despite Rovers' protests, was penalised for a nudge in the back on Cooke, who picked himself up and converted from the penalty spot.
The Gas were left with plenty of work to do and they took control of possession, but they were short of precision in the final third and it was Bath who were threatening the game's fifth goal. Substitute Tom Smith saw a deflected shot bounce just wide of the target before drawing a superb save from the feet of Belshaw with 10 minutes remaining.
The Gas were unable to break through the Romans' defences late on, but there was warm applause for Chris Lines as the Rovers legend was substituted after a good shift in the heart of the Bath midfield.
Rovers: James Belshaw; Luca Hoole, Alfie Kilgour, James Connolly, James Gibbons; Josh Grant, Sam Finley; Harry Anderson, Antony Evans, Aaron Collins; Ryan Loft.
Subs (not used): Jed Ward, Jamarni Langlais, Will Larvin, Ross Mason, Theo Lynden, Jaheim Allen.
