Yeovil Town 0-3 Bristol Rovers
Pre-season fixture, Huish Park, Tuesday 16 July 2024
Goals from Scott Sinclair, Kofi Shaw and Luke McCormick secured a hard-fought 3-0 win against Yeovil Town for Bristol Rovers.
A highly competitive and enjoyable contest was evenly-matched until Sinclair sensationally opened the scoring with the game’s first notable chance, powering in a terrific first-time effort from distance.
Shaw, a first-half substitute, grabbed a second for the Gas thanks to his tenacity and relentlessness, scoring from a narrow angle after good work on the edge of the Glovers penalty area.
The third was well-taken by McCormick shortly into the second half when the midfielder passed a cool effort into the bottom corner.
Played in glorious July sunshine, the opening quarter of Tuesday’s pre-season fixture passed by without significant incident, although the hosts certainly shaded the better of the possession and the intent. A first shot, taken mainly in frustration by Matt Worthington, went wide of Josh Griffiths’ net on 19 minutes.
The fans in attendance were made to wait for an effort of note but, when it came, it was a shot of pure quality from Sinclair.
Built from the best move of the half from Rovers, Joel Senior combined well with Taylor Moore and McCormick to get away down the flank. The full-back’s ball to the edge of the area was too tempting for Sinclair to pass up, who slammed home a superb first-time strike from distance, into the top corner.
The lead could, and arguably would, have been doubled just moments later when Michael Forbes arrived at the back post for Isaac Hutchinson’s corner. The centre-back could not quite meet the teasing cross.
Hutchinson himself went close to another fine finish with a curling shot from distance, forcing goalkeeper Ollie Wright into an acrobatic save.
But the Gas would find their second before the interval through substitute Shaw. The midfielder capitalised on errors in the Yeovil defence to steal possession and slam home a good finish from a tight angle.
The two wing-backs were exceptional in Tuesday’s outing and the pair would combine to almost find the third for the Gas eight minutes into the second half.
Bryant Bilongo’s ball into the area was wicked and Senior met the cross, sending his header into the ground and forcing Wright into an awkward, but smart, stop.
Rovers would not be denied a third, though, with the away side again capitalising on some poor defending on the back. This time, McCormick collected possession and calmly placed a fine finish into the far corner.
Josh Griffiths was forced into an exceptional save for Rovers at the other end on the hour mark, denying Worthington’s one-on-one effort, before manager Matt Taylor made nine substitutions.
Two of them, Jack Hunt and Ollie Dewsbury, almost immediately combined to score a fourth, but again Wright was able to deny the Pirates.
A competitive outing would conclude without further notable incident, extending Rovers’ pre-season run to three wins from three fixtures.
Yeovil Town: Wright, Whittle, Williams, Wannell, Worthington, Jarvis, McGavin, Morgan, Smith, Cooper, Greenslade
Subs not used: Gould, Cousin-Dawson, Pearson, Nouble, Young, Stevens, Lo-Everton, Trialist, Koerner
Bristol Rovers: Griffiths, Senior (Hunt 61), Moore (Ellison 61), Mola (Wilson 61), Sinclair (Brown 61), Martin (Shaw 30), Hutchinson (Lawrence 61), Conteh (Thomas 61), McCormick (Dewsbury 61), Forbes (Trialist 61), Bilongo (Leipus 61)
Subs: Ward, Sugahaer, Moody, Edwards, Hill
Goals: Sinclair 28, Shaw 44, McCormick 58
Attendance: 1,715
