Two bizarre goals sent Weston to defeat in their friendly against Bristol Rovers.

WESTON-S-MARE 0

BRISTOL ROVERS 2

WESTON can feel unlucky to lose against a full-strength Rovers side, as both goals were candidates for A Question of Sport’s What Happened Next? sequence.

Played in appalling conditions, with a continuous downpour, the 466 paying customers were treated to some high-quality one-touch football with both defences dominating and few goal-scoring opportunities.

Weston started with three new signings in attack, Matt Huxley, Mike Mckay and Chris Young, with Huxley catching the eye with decisive runs at Rovers defence and some decent crosses.

Weston came close on six minutes when skipper Ben Kirk forced a full-length save from keeper Lance Cronin, but Rovers took the lead on 14 minutes when skipper Chris Lines 25-yard free kick took a wicked deflection which wrong-footed keeper Lloyd Irish to nestle in the corner of his net.

Kayne McLaggon forced a full-length save from Irish with a low effort, but Rovers struck again on 22 minutes when Matt Villis played a back-pass to Irish whose clearance struck McLaggon and rolled into the empty net, much to the surprise of the Rovers striker.

Before the interval, Irish made another good save to deny Muzzy Carayol after a good build-up involving Eliot Richards and Ben Swallow and for Weston Nat Pepperell was only inches over with a 20-yard free kick.

For the second half, both sides made several changes, with Weston bringing on Nabbi Diallo, Sahr Kabba and Marcus Duharty in attack with Craig Laird taking over from Villis, who picked up a knock in defence.

There were few scoring chances with the rain getting heavier, Rovers Matt Harrold headed against the crossbar from a corner and Duharty forced a good save from Cronin.

Full Weston squad: Irish, Price, Slocombe, Trowbridge, Villis, Jamie Laird, Huxley, Kirk, McKay, Young, Pepperell, Diallo, Kabba, Craig Laird, Hunt, Martin, Booth, Beadle, Duharty, Callum Laird, Kann, Burgess (goal).