Today's match saw Rovers come up against a very hard working well organised Mangotsfield side who certainly put up a good performance in particular in the first game which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Rovers started well and were unlucky not to take a 1st minute lead when Arthur Hawkins shot struck the post. This seemed to set the pattern for the first half as Rovers created chances but were unable to take any due to very good defending by Mangotsfield coupled with some poor finishing. Mangotsfield themselves looked dangerous when going forward and took the lead in the 17th minute when a Myley Balkwell shot from the edge of the box found the corner of the net. If it were not for some excellent saves by Man of the Match Bradley Davies then Mangotsfield would have gone in with a bigger lead at half time.
The second half again saw Rovers create early chances with Aaron Mansfield and Kameron Brown seeing shots well saved but again two good saves from Davies stopped Mangotsfield from increasing their lead. The equaliser though came in the 30th minute when Mansfield shot into the top corner following a good move involving Brown and Hawkins. As the game came to a close Rovers had more of the play but apart from a long range free kick from Nathan Hewitt that was pushed over they were unable to break down the hard working Mangotsfield defence.
The second game started quite evenly with both sides defending well but it was Rovers who took the lead when an excellent tackle by Brad Lewis saw him pass the ball through to Ben Alexander who prodded the ball passed the advancing keeper. Rovers second goal came only a minute later when a good break saw Ricky Kirby tap the ball home from Alexander's pass. Alex Skuse with a header and Kirby both came close to extending the lead but Rovers went in with a 2-0 lead at half time.
The second half started with Mangotsfield bringing a good diving save out of Samuel Johnson only for Rovers to go up the other end and extend their lead when Alexander rounded the keeper and tap the ball into an empty net. In the 33rd minute a Morgan Wager free kick from distance found the top of the net to give Rovers a 4-0 lead and his cross in the 35th minute was knocked home by Man of the Match Alexander to complete his hat trick. Rovers sixth and final goal came in the last minute when a good team move saw Kirby left with a simple task of tapping the ball in from close range.
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