Pre-Season Friendly
The Moat Ground
Saturday, 8th July 2023, 3.00pm
All Square At The Moat
Bar for a couple of minutes of second half slack defending, this was a good performance as the Rovers side began to gel together.
Missing a few forwards due to injury, work and sickness Rovers still looked sharper than their opponents in the first half of the game although Swifts went close after just three minutes as they planted a header just wide of target.
Rovers settled with Dexter Dudley-Toole warming the hands of the visiting keeper five minutes later followed by James Tague also testing the keeper from distance.
On 13 minutes, Kane Lee forced a corner from the left and the ball was swung over to Dudley-Toole was waiting to head home at the far post.
Swifts could, or rather should have levelled ten minutes later as a ball was fired in from the right only for it to fly across the face of goal with no-one able to get the vital touch.
George Clark had a good shout for a penalty when he was upended as he cut into the area from the right.
Rovers doubled their advantage on 33 minutes after some good inter passing by the home players led to Lee racing into the area and he coolly slotted the ball past the keeper.
The home side could have added another from a bizarre long ball into Swift area. The keeper came out but the ball bounced in front of him and over his head. He then slipped and saw the ball heading to the net, but he managed to get to his feet and grab the ball before the damage was done.
Manager Carl Abbott introduced five of his seven substitutes for the start of the second half and it seemed to unsettle his side slightly but Clark somehow managed to miss a good chance after rounding the keeper but putting his effort wide of the far post.
The visitors almost gabbed a goal back when their no9 struck a good shot which keeper Louis Fenney did well to push away from under his bar.
Substitute Kai Moore was unlucky not to have got on the scoreboard when his run into the area ended with him trying to slip the ball past the keeper who denied him with a tough with the rebound being rammed home by fellow substitute Haydn Brown only for the upraised flag of the assistant referee cutting short the celebrations.
On 73 minutes Swifts did get a goal back when a move down the right was not stopped and the low cross found no16 unmarked who scored from close in. Two minutes later the scores were level when no9 drilled home unmarked.
Swifts almost grabbed an unlikely win on the final whistle but the unlucky no10 headed the ball onto the far post from close in.
