Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta Tuesday, July 26th, 2016 k/o 19:00   1st Team Friendly Attendance: 1,500         CE Sabadell FC 3-0 Bristol Rovers
2016 /17

Comments :

CE Sabadell 3-0 26.07.2016 18:00 Bristol Rovers 1st half 36'' Gabi Lopez 49'' Saad Cheikh 89'' Sabariego A chastening defeat by Sabadell – or the ''brothers in quarters'' as they are otherwise known – at the Nove Creu Alta Stadium paled into insignificance at the end of a day on which Bristol Rovers supporters enjoyed some fun in the blistering Spanish sun. Hundreds of Rovers supporters flooded the Catalonian city to get behind Darrell Clarke and his players as they continued their pre-season preparations with a 3-0 defeat against the third-tier Spanish side. Clarke attributed the defeat to a sloppy mistakes at set-pieces – Rovers conceded at two corners – but that mattered little to supporters who ate paella, drank and sung songs joyfully after arriving in mid-afternoon temperatures of well over 30 degrees. Once the football broke out later in the evening, Rovers made a brisk start and were unlucky not to be ahead when Rory Gaffney bundled the ball home at the far post from a delightfully delivered Liam Lawrence free-kick. The linesman had other ideas though, raising his flag decisively to allow Sabadell a let-off that they fully capitalised on shortly before the referee brought a temporary halt to proceedings. It was a goal that would not have pleased Darrell Clarke as one of the smallest men on the pitch – midfielder Gabi Lopez – evaded the attentions of Danny Greenslade to plant a free header past Will Puddy. Rovers fell further behind on 55 minutes when Ryan Broom mis-timed an attempted clearance from Txomin''s corner to allow the tall and rangy striker Cheikh the simplest of opportunities to finish from close-range. A bout of cramp to Peter Hartley and the fact that Rovers had used all of their substitutes left Darrell Clarke to watch his side play with ten men for the final twenty minutes. Sabadell winger Montero hit the post and the crossbar before finally capitalising on the numerical advantage when substitute Yeray curled in a delicious effort from the edge of the penalty seconds before the final whistle. Rovers (4-3-3): Puddy: Broom, Hartley, McChrystal, Greenslade: Lawrence, Lines, Sinclair: Easter, Gaffney, James. Subs used: O Clarke, Brown, Harrison, Taylor, Moore, Bodin, Gosling. Sub not used: Mildenhall.