Chelsea youngsters battle back to overcome inexperienced Rovers
AYOUTHFUL Bristol Rovers came up short in their second game of Group M in the Papa John’s Trophy to Chelsea Under-21s at the Memorial Stadium.
Luke Thomas’ moment of magic on 15 minutes gave Rovers the lead. But Niall Lovelock inadvertently turned the ball into his own net to provide the young Blues with an equaliser, and Lewis Baker completed the turnaround with a goal on 47 minutes.
Joey Barton made 10 changes from Saturday’s win over Carlisle with upcoming back-to-back away trips against Bradford City and Colchester United clearly on his mind.
There were starts for Trevor Clarke, Sam Nicholson and Thomas as the trio continue to regain match fitness after their respective injuries.
With many of the Rovers starting 11 having not played together many times before, Chelsea U21s started with intent and could have gone in front twice early on.
George Nunn tested the palms of Jed Ward on seven minutes and the Rovers goalkeeper had to be on his toes again three minutes later to sprawl at the feet of Jayden Wareham, who was closing in on goal.
Despite the slightly disjointed start from Rovers, they took the lead on 15 minutes when Thomas brought the ball under control from 20 yards and bent his effort perfectly into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
The intensity simmered slightly for the following quarter until a dazzling run from Baker on 34 minutes, halted by a superb sliding challenge from Lovelock, presented Wareham with an opportunity inside the box but he blazed over. However, Chelsea Under-21s took their next chance six minutes before half-time when Dion Rankine’s dangerous cross hit Lovelock and rebound into his own net.
Had it not been for an acrobatic fingertip save by Ward from Xavilr Simons’ effort a few minutes later, the visitors would have gone into the interval ahead.
Within the opening minutes of the second half, though, Chelsea Under-21s were in front. A low corner from George McEachran left the Rovers defence bemused, allowing Baker to slide the ball home from 10 yards.
Rovers ramped up their attacks after going behind with Thomas having three opportunities in 10 minutes, forcing Ethan Wady into reaction saves either side of firing over from the edge of the box.
The Gas continued with their spell of dominance and nearly equalised with a corner routine of their own when Cam Hargreaves’ run across the front post was spotted by Zain Westbrooke, but his toe poke across the six-yard box evaded everyone.
Second-half substitute Louis Flower nearly put the game beyond the Gas on 73 minutes when he was played in behind the backline and while his shot drifted past Ward, Pablo Martinez scurried back to hook the ball off the line.
Ten minutes later, Flower was in behind again but this time he opted to pass to Wareham, who had the goal at his mercy but shanked his effort straight at Ward.
Although Rovers lost their spot at the top of Group M to their opponents, minutes for Clarke, Nicholson and Thomas will go a long way to getting them back up to speed, while Tom Mehew and Ward both impressed.