Rovers travel to face Salisbury tomorrow in their second pre-season fixture ahead of the 2026/27 campaign. It won’t be the first time the sides have met in recent years and here we take a look at four previous meetings.
On 11th July 2011 Rovers, with new manager Paul Buckle at the helm, recorded a 5-2 win against the side then known as Salisbury City; Cian Bolger opened the scoring in the 28th minute and Joe Anyinsah doubled the lead a minute later.
Brian Dutton put through his own goal to make it 3-0 in the 37th minute and Scott Mcgleish scored goal number four two minutes into the second half. Chris Zebroski added the fifth goal on 65 minutes.
The home side scored through Sam Sawyer on 76 minutes and Matt Wright scored the second in time added on.
Rovers signed Kayne McLaggon, from Salisbury, on the day of the game, while Lee Brown had previously spent time on loan at Salisbury. Playing for Salisbury were future Rovers manager Darrell Clarke and current Salisbury boss Brian Dutton, who also spent time, under Clarke, as a coach in BS7 and he and Clarke also worked together at Walsall.
Rovers (First half): Scott Bevan, Michael Boateng, Adam Virgo, Cian Bolger, Lee Brown, Ben Swallow, Stuart Campbell, Craig Stanley, Mustapha Carayol, Joe Anyinsah, Eliot Richards.
Rovers (Second half): Lance Cronin, Michael Smith, Byron Anthony, Cian Bolger (Charlie Reece, 55) Chris Zebroski, Matt Gill, Andrew Yiadom (Darren Jefferies, 76), Craig Stanley, Matt Harrold, Scott McGleish, Wayne Brown.
Substitute: Ollie Clarke
Salisbury (First Half): Tommy Smith, Tom Evans, Ben Adelsbury, Brian Dutton, Callum Hart, Chris Giles, Stuart Anderson, Darrell Clarke, Dan Fitchett, Matt Wright, Adam Kelly.
Salisbury City (Second half): Tommy Smith (Mike Neish, 60), Josh Searle, Sam Sawyer, Ryan Brett, Callum Hart, Dan Fitchett (Cass Newton, 60), Josh Casey, Matt Wright, Stuart Anderson (Claudio Hebbert, 60), Adam Kelly (Mikey Harris, 82), Ethan Phillips.
Attendance: 603
Four years later, to the day, on 11th July 2015 as Rovers prepared for the new season, manager Darrell Clarke took his side back to his former club Salisbury for their first pre-season friendly.
Rovers came away with a 4-1 win under their belts, thanks to two goals apiece from Jamie Lucas and Nathan Blissett.
Lucas opened the scoring on 12 minutes when he was on hand to roll a cross from Blissett into an unguarded net after goalkeeper Gareth Barfoot had rushed out of his area in an attempt to cut out the cross.
Blissett scored the second goal 12 minutes after the break, courtesy of Jake Gosling’s through ball, and Lucas scored his second goal of the afternoon when he headed in a cross from Tyler Lyttle.
Home defender George Coulson pulled a goal back with a spectacular 25 yard effort and Blissett completed the afternoon’s scoring when he fired in from a tight angle.
Triallist Billy Bodin made his first appearance in a Rovers shirt and this is how the sides lined up.
Bristol Rovers: Steve Mildenhall, Tyler Lyttle, Tom Lockyer (Alfie Kilgour, 69), Mark McChrystal, Danny Greenslade, Cristian Montano (Jay Malpas, 69), Stuart Sinclair (Dominic Thomas, 59), Jake Gosling (Ryan Broom, 69), Billy Bodin, Nathan Blissett, Jamie Lucas.
Salisbury FC: Gareth Barfoot (Monty George, 46), George Coulson, Callum Casson (Louis Brayley, 59), Pip Nolan, Steve Walker, Matt Burt, Claudio Herbert (Dan Demkiv, 59), Brandon Mundy, Sam Wilson, Ashley Jarvis (Mark Ford, 59), Danny Young (Ed Perrett, 38).
One year later, on 9th July 2016 Clarke again took his side back to his former club and saw them record a comfortable 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Ellis Harrison, Ollie Clarke and Billy Bodin.
Rovers took an 18th minute lead when Harrison scored from the penalty spot after Bodin had been upended by Ashton Lee.
Twenty minutes later the lead was doubled when Clarke was on hand to finish off a superb move. The home side lost possession on the halfway line and Jake Gosling picked up the ball and picked out Bodin with an incisive pass. He, in turn, found Clarke who comfortably beat goalkeeper Charlie Searle from 12 yards.
The third goal arrived with 66 minutes on the clock when Harrison beat two defenders and cut the ball back to the unmarked Bodin who slotted the ball past Searle from six yards
Bristol Rovers: Will Puddy, Daniel Leadbitter (Alfie Kilgour, 46), Tom Lockyer, Chad Field, Lee Brown (Hammed Lawal, 46), Stuart Sinclair (Jay Malpas, 46), Ollie Clarke (Jamie Lucas, 60), Jake Gosling, Billy Bodin, Ellis Harrison, Ryan Broom.
Salisbury: Charlie Searle (Nathan Ball, 76), George Coulson (Josh Warren, 46), Ashton Leigh (Ed Perrett, 46) (Adam Flint, 61), Tom Whelan, Steve Walker (Seb Dawes, 46), Elliot Wheeler, Daniel Ano (Joe Sanger, 25), Lewis Benson, Justin Bennett, Brandon Mundy (Charlie Blake, 82), Danny Young (Mo Ahmed, 66).
Substitute: Sam Roberts
On 15th July 2017 Rovers took sides to meet Salisbury and Gloucester City and while goals from triallist Cameron Ebbutt and Gaffney saw them win 2-0 against Salisbury they were held to a 1-1 draw by Gloucester where Harrison scored a late equaliser after former Rovers player Eliot Richards had put the home side ahead.
Darrell Clarke was in charge of the side that faced his former club, Salisbury, and saw Ebbutt score after only four minutes when he headed past keeper Nathan Ball from a Lee Brown cross.
Gaffney doubled the lead, and sealed the win, on 62 minutes when he latched on to Daniel Leadbitter’s through ball and rounded Ball before knocking the ball into the net for his fifth pre-season goal.
Bristol Rovers: Adam Smith, Daniel Leadbitter, Lee Brown (Ghassan Hassan), Tom Lockyer, Rollin Menayese (Ben Morgan, 72), Lewis Hall (Connor Jones, 56), Stuart Sinclair, Ollie Clarke, Rory Gaffney, Billy Bodin, Cameron Ebbutt (Lewis Ellington, 46).
Substitute: Liam Armstrong
Salisbury FC: Nathan Ball, George Colson (Flavio Tavares, 63), Brandon Mundy, Tom Whelan (Kane O’Keefe, 67), Elliot Wheeler (Adam Flint, 67), Jake Wannell, Lewis Benson (Claudio Herbert, 63), Sam Roberts, Marvin Brooks (Lawrence Larbi, 69), Mark Francis (Kailan Gould, 60), Danny Young (Stuart Green, 11).
Substitute: Vance Bola
