A lot has changed in a year. Almost 12 months ago to the day, Bristol Rovers made a stuttering start to pre-season at Melksham Town. In Joey Barton's words, they were "threadbare" and "scrapped" a 1-1 draw against their eighth-tier opponents.
A year later, the Gas rocked up at the Oakfield Stadium with a totally different energy. Of course, Rovers should be putting four, five or six past opponents like this, but manager Barton must be encouraged by the vigour with which his players have returned from their summer break with.
As last season showed, pre-season performances are not an accurate barometer of a team's potential with Rovers finding peak form late in the campaign to surge to promotion, but the Gas were scruffy last summer and hit badly by COVID-19 and injuries. It can only be a good thing that key players have raced out of the blocks and several youngsters have staked a claim for further chances in the coming weeks.
Collins continues in same vein
Many players took up starring roles in Rovers' promotion tale, but Aaron Collins was perhaps the poster boy thanks to five goals in the final two games and the iconic celebrations that followed.
Although he scored at Melksham a year ago, his season took a long time to get up and running, going goalless in competitive action until November, but there are no signs of similar struggles reoccurring for the striker.
Collins was electric at Oakfield Stadium, playing at full tilt throughout his 45-minute shift in the first half. His positive intent caused the defence plenty of worries and he exuded the kind of confidence that made him such a threat in the second half of the season.
The 25-year-old varied his positioning to great effect, mixing it up between dropping in to spaces as a false nine and playing on the shoulder of the last man. He linked well with Harvey Greenslade throughout, with the youngster providing the assist for Collins' opener. The Welshman was composed, leaving a defender on his backside before outfoxing the keeper by whipping his shot inside of the near post.
Collins would then win a penalty just a few seconds after the restart, with young Jerry Lawrence dispatching the spot kick.
Barton and his staff are eager to add another striker to the ranks in the coming weeks, but they already have an enviable option in Collins.
The kids are alright
Last year, it was Luca Hoole who capitalised on a pre-season opportunity to burst into the first team and Greenslade, Lawrence and several others are hoping to follow in his footsteps.
Greenslade and Lawrence starred in the first half. They combined brilliantly in the build-up to Collins' goal with second-year scholar Lawrence bamboozling his marker with a silky half-turn to inject speed into the attack. He never shied out of a challenge either, wrapping the shin pads of a Melksham player with a robust tackle and the midfielder's confidence was demonstrated when he grabbed the ball and tucked away the penalty after Collins was felled, making it 2-0.
Greenslade has been on Barton's radar for a little while, training regularly with the first-team group at the back end of last season, and the first-year professional will reflect on a good night's work. He showed he can effect the game in wide areas as well as link the play, and his ruthless finish to make it 3-0 is exactly what Barton will want to see from the 18-year-old striker.
In the second half, Ryan Jones and Sam Heal caught the eye. Jones looked likely for a goal, having one disallowed for offside before he did get on the scoresheet moments later. He latched onto Antony Evans' pinpoint pass and stroked it home for the fifth goal.
Heal, meanwhile, has less time to impress. He is playing on a six-month contract as Rovers give him a chance to prove himself after injury and he advanced his cause on Friday night. There will be tougher tests defensively for the left-back as Rovers get into the heart of their pre-season schedule, but he got forward well and mustered the assist for Harvey Saunders' goal – the sixth of the evening.
Gibbons good, Rossiter delayed
It's better than no football, but pre-season games are just not the same. However, one of the perks is seeing new signings in action for the first time and James Gibbons started brightly in a Rovers shirt.
The versatile defender played at right-back in the second-half XI and took just two minutes to open his account. Like Jones, he was the recipient of another brilliant Evans assist, steering the ball home at the near post after timing his run well.
Jordan Rossiter, though, will have to wait for his Rovers bow. He picked up a calf injury in the first week of pre-season and the midfielder will be desperate that issue is quickly resolved so he can avoid the same kind of frustration he endured on the sidelines for much of last season at Fleetwood.
But the manager is not overly concerned. Rovers' fitness and endurance in the closing stages of last season were a huge factor in their late-season surge and Barton believes the club have the staff and the tools to get Rossiter fit and firing.
