Bromsgrove Rovers (1) 3 Bristol Rovers (3) 4

MATT Gardiner pounced late on to give Bromsgrove Rovers a respectable score against the visitors from the Coca-Cola League at the Victoria Ground on Saturday.

The calm defender bundled in Matt Johnson's corner in the 85th minute to seal a testing work out for manager Jimmy Mullen's side.

They pushed a Bristol side that had no first team regulars, and was packed with an exotic bunch of trialists, all the way.

While Mullen did not make wholesale changes at half time as he did in the previous three pre-season friendlies, Bristol fielded Portuguese players, Cozic Bertran, Bruno Marterns, Jose Vitor Viera and former Sutton Coldfield Town defender Exodus Gheoghan.

Rovers started strongly, with Matthew Barnes-Homer's dangerous cross cleared by Matt Thorne in the first minute.

Barnes-Homer had the first clear chance in the tenth minute when he blazed over from Johnson's corner. The home side pushed forward and Leon Mitchell stooped to head Kevin Banner's left wing cross, but it was straight at Jamie Atkins in goal.

Lewis Powell broke the deadlock in the 29th minute, when he collected Bertran's neat pass from the left and slipped it under goalkeeper Lee Evans.

But new signing Lee Greenaway grabbed a deserved equaliser seven minutes later. Atkins made a great reaction save to deny the striker's bullet header from Barnes-Homer's cross.

However, a defender knocked the ball to Greenaway, who rifled it over the stranded goalkeeper.

Two goals in three minutes left the home side punch drunk. Powell looped Bertram's poor shot over Evans in the 41st minute.

The goalkeeper should have kept out Matt Thorne's scuffed free-kick in the 44th minute, but it crept underneath him and into the left corner.

Second half substitute Riad Erraji pulled a well-worked goal back in the 49th minute. The silky midfielder let fly with a powerful volley that gave Atkins no chance of saving it.

Powell edged his side ahead in the 58th minute from a corner, but that did not deter Bromsgrove, who poured forward in search of another goal.

Delton Francis came close in the 65th minute when he stretched for Gardiner's deep cross from the right, but could only nudge it to Atkins.

The visitors made a host of substitutions in the 75th minute and the disruption added more urgency to Bromsgrove.

Barnes-Homer won a corner and from Johnson's good delivery Gardiner's shot at the far post ricocheted underneath Atkins.

Rovers: Evans, Johnson (Ruddock, 45mins), Hillman, Gardiner, Male (Williams, 53mins), Hadland, Barnes-Homer, Dyer (Erraji, 45mins), Mitchell (Benbow), Greenaway (Francis, 59mins), Banner.

Bristol: Atkins (Gorbachz, 75mins), Wiltshire, Robbins (Huang), Thorne, Jin Yuan (Blair, 60mins), Gheoghan (Kite, 75mins), Bertran (Burt, 75mins), Viera, Powell (Pendrel, 75mins) Callan (Nelson 75mins), Marterns (Paddock, 70mins).