DATE: Tuesday 31st July 2007, 7.45pm
RESULT: Bristol Rovers 3 West Bromwich Albion 3
COMPETITION: Pre-Season Friendly

HONOURS EVEN IN HIGH SCORING DRAW

Albion preserved there unbeaten run with an entertaining draw against West Country side Bristol Rovers.

Boss Tony Mowbray sent out an experimental 4-3-3 formation and it showed as the opening stages of the game were dominated by The Pirates, as early as the first minutes Dean Kiely had to make a stunning save to deny Sammy Igoe.

Rovers were then rewarded for their early pressure with a goal on six minutes when Lambert met a Richard Walker flick on too steer an headed into the Baggies net.

Albion then began to settle perhaps in reaction too the early goal but they couldn't get much joy out of a buoyant Rovers defence.

In act it took until nearly 20 minutes into the game for the visitors to register an effort at goal, when Steve Phillips saved well from Zoltan Gera.

Albion were now coming too life and Craig Beattie and Hodgkiss both went close within minutes of each other.

The impressive Beattie then set up Albion’s best chance of the game on 35 minutes when he fired a powerful drive past the Rovers keeper on too see it canon off the post.

The Pirates had one last say of the first half when Anthony struck the bar with a snapshot from a corner.

Half Time: Bristol Rovers 1 West Bromwich Albion 0

The second half kicked off in much the same fashion as the first and three minutes in it was that man Lambert again who headed a Carruthers centre into the back of Albion net.

Albion’s defensive errors from the previous campaign seemed to have come back to haunt them.

Returning hero Ellington helped Albion regroup with a 56th minute strike after ghosting past the Rovers defence.

And then against the run of play 5 minutes later Baggies were back level after Beattie expertly controlled a Phillips lofted pass and drilled an unstoppable shot into the far corner.

This comeback though didn't hide Albion vulnerability and Rovers nearly re-took the lead moments later when Igoe raced through but could only fire straight at Kiely.

Igoe was made too pay for that miss on 66 minutes when Carter curled a free kick though the Rovers wall and into the net.

But this wasn't vintage Albion defensively and they let Rovers back in when  the willing Lambert completed a memorable hat-trick smashing a shot past the helpless Dean Kiely.

Full Time: Bristol Rovers 3 West Bromwich Albion 3

MATCH INFORMATION

Bristol Rovers (4-4-2):

Phillips, Lescott, Anthony, Elliott, Carruthers, Igoe (Pipe 70), Campbell, Disley, Haldane (Jacobson 61) Lambert (Rigg 88), Walker (Williams 70). Subs not used: Green, Rose, Hinton, Palmer, Sandell.

West Bromwich Albion (4-3-3):

Kiely, Hodgkiss (Albrechtsen 61), Barnett, Davies, Tininho, Gera, Greening, Teixeira (Carter 61), Ellington, Phillips (MacDonald 70), Beattie. Subs not used: Daniels, Martis

Goals: Bristol Rovers - Lambert 6, 48, 73. Albion - Ellington 56, Beattie 61, Carter 66. 
 
Referee: S.Dorr (Worcestershire).

Attendance: 3,221