A total of ten pre-season matches were arranged in preparation for the 2012–13 campaign, one at home and nine away. The highlight of the fixtures was the first Bristol derby since 27 February 2007, which served as Bristol City captain Louis Carey's testimonial match.
The squad split in two on 21 July to play both Frome Town and Weston-super-Mare simultaneously, with both games featuring a mix of first team and youth team players.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 July ♦ | Royal Marines | Away | 3–0 | Harrold (pen), Anyinsah, Zebroski | |
| 21 July † | Frome Town | Away | 0–1 | 450 | |
| 21 July † | Weston-super-Mare | Away | 2–2 | Virgo, Clarkson (pen) | |
| 24 July | Newport County | Away | 0–2 | 1,549 | |
| 28 July | Yeovil Town | Away | 1–1 | 1,125 | Norburn |
| 31 July | Tamworth | Away | 2–1 | 495 | Richards, Hunter |
| 1 August ‡ | Paulton Rovers | Away | 2–1 | W. Brown, Harrold | |
| 4 August ‡ | Bristol City | Away | 0–3 | 8,713 | |
| 8 August | Gloucester City | Away | 0–2 | 276 | |
| 11 August | Coventry City | Home | 1–2 | 1,775 | Harrold |
- Notes
♦ Game divided into three 30-minute periods
† Split squad games
‡ Testimonial matches for Dan Cleverley (Paulton Rovers) and Louis Carey (Bristol City)
Royal Marines[]
|
Royal Marines | 0–3 | Bristol Rovers | 
|
| Harrold (pen 28) Anyinsah (63) Zebroski (74) | ||||
| Venue: Endurance Park – KO: 14 July 2012 @ 1500 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Richards (Zebroski, 45) |
Harrold (Anyinsah, 52) |
||
| W. Brown (Goddard, 55) |
Clucas (Norburn, 50) |
Gill (Clarke, 45) |
Hunter (Broghammer ♦, 54) |
| L. Brown | Paterson | Lockyer † (Staley, 45) |
Smith |
| Gough (Macey †, 60) | |||
†=Scholar, ♦=Trialist
Rovers ran out comfortable 3–0 winners in their first friendly of 2012 against a Royal Marines XI, thanks to goals from Matt Harrold, Joe Anyinsah and Chris Zebroski.
The game was played as three 30-minute periods rather than two 45-minute halves, and manager Mark McGhee also arranged for a penalty shootout to take place at the end of the first period. Rovers won the shootout, which was used as practice in case the upcoming League Cup match against Ipswich Town required spot kicks, 4–2 with young 'keeper Connor Gough the hero thanks to his three saves.
- Match report on the official Bristol Rovers website.
Frome Town[]
|
Frome Town | 1–0 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Baker (87) | (0–0 HT) | |||
| Venue: Badgers Hill – KO: 21 July 2012 @ 1500 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Broghammer ♦ (McLaggon §, 58) |
Harrold (Santos †, 64) |
||
| Anyinsah (Aaron Ward-Baptiste †, 64) |
W. Brown (Laurent Davis-Wilson †, 80) |
Clucas | Hunter (Lund §, 48) |
| Staley (Kamara †, 61) |
Keary † | Lockyer † | Smith |
| Gough | |||
†=Scholar, ♦=Trialist, §=Non-contract player
A youthful Rovers eleven went down by a single goal to Southern League side Frome Town in one of two games played simultaneously by Rovers teams, with half the squad here and the remainder approximately 30 miles away in Weston-super-Mare.
The lineup featured a number of youth team players, as well as trialist Fabian Broghammer and two non-contract players in Matthew Lund, who was waiting for the paperwork to be finalised on his loan move to Bristol, and Kayne McLaggon, who was training with the club after his contract had expired at the end of the previous season.
The game was decided late on by a long-range strike from Frome's Harry Baker.
Weston-super-Mare[]
|
Weston-super-Mare | 2–2 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Price Young |
(1–1 HT) | Virgo Clarkson (pen) | ||
| Venue: Woodspring Stadium – KO: 21 July 2012 @ 1500 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Richards | Clarkson ♦ (Harrison) |
||
| Carayol (Southway †) |
Norburn | Gill (Anderson †) |
Zebroski |
| L. Brown | Harding | Virgo (Goddard) |
Clarke |
| Macey † | |||
†=Scholar, ♦=Trialist
Rovers twice came from behind to draw this match, which was played simultaneously with the Frome Town friendly. The team, which was managed by assistant boss Shaun North while Mark McGhee was in Frome, went a goal down in the early stages when Jamie Price netted for the Seagulls. Rovers answered with a spectacular long-range strike from Adam Virgo, who was playing his first match in 10 months after suffering a knee cartilage injury the previous September.
After the break Weston again took the lead through Chris Young, but David Clarkson grabbed the equaliser from the penalty spot after he was brought down in the area.
- Match report on the Bristol Rovers website
- Match report on the Weston-super-Mare AFC website
Newport County[]
|
Newport County | 2–0 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Louis (29) Fielden (86) |
(1–0 HT) | |||
| Venue: Rodney Parade – KO: 24 July 2012 @ 1945 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Richards (Clarkson, 45) |
Harrold (Anyinsah, 45) |
||
| Norburn (Carayol, 45) |
Gill (W. Brown, 67) |
Clucas (Broghammer ♦, 45) |
Lund § |
| L. Brown | Keary † | Virgo (Staley, 70) |
Smith |
| Gough | |||
†=Scholar, ♦=Trialist, §=Non-contract player
Yeovil Town[]
|
Yeovil Town | 1–1 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Ince (79) | (0–0 HT) | Norburn (83) | ||
| Venue: Huish Park – KO: 28 July 2012 @ 1200 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Broghammer ♦ (Anyinsah, 26) |
Harrold (Hunter, 72) |
Clarkson (Richards, 53) | |||||||||
| L.Brown | Gill (Norburn, 53) |
Clucas (W.Brown, 76) |
Smith | ||||||||
| Paterson | Virgo | Keary † | |||||||||
| Gough | |||||||||||
†=Scholar, ♦=Trialist
Tamworth[]
|
Tamworth | 1–2 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Barrow (18) | (1–0 HT) | Richards (79) Hunter (88) | ||
| Venue: The Lamb Ground – KO: 31 July 2012 @ 1930 | ||||
Paulton Rovers[]
|
Paulton Rovers | 1–2 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Lacey (7) | (1–1 HT) | W. Brown (22) Harrold (50) | ||
| Venue: Winterfield Road – KO: 1 August 2012 @ 1930 | ||||
Bristol City[]
|
Bristol City | 3–0 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Woolford (22) Adomah (80) Pearson (85) |
(1–0 HT) | |||
| Venue: Ashton Gate – KO: 4 August 2012 @ 1300 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Clarkson (Richards, 60) |
Harrold | ||
| L. Brown | Norburn (Anyinsah, 74) |
Clucas | Broghammer ♦ (Hunter, 49) (Harding, 86) |
| Paterson | Virgo | Kenneth (Baldvinsson, 20) |
Smith |
| Turner ♦ | |||
♦=Trialist
Gloucester City[]
|
Gloucester City | 2–0 | Bristol Rovers |
|
| Morford (17) Davies (58) |
(1–0 HT) | |||
| Venue: Whaddon Road, Cheltenham – KO: 8 August 2012 @ 1930 | ||||
Coventry City[]
|
|
Bristol Rovers | 1–2 | Coventry City | 
|
| McDonald (23, 47) | (1–1 HT) | Harrold (39) | ||
| Venue: The Memorial Stadium – KO: 11 August 2012 @ 1500 | ||||
- Rovers starting lineup
| Clarkson (Gill, 78) |
Harrold (Anyinsah, 58) |
||
| Broghammer (Richards, 71) |
Norburn (W. Brown, 62) |
Clucas | Lund |
| L. Brown | Paterson | Virgo | Smith |
| Turner ♦ | |||
♦=Trialist