Forest Green Rovers got preseason underway with a 2-0 win over Yate Town this afternoon.

Goals from Carl Winchester and Josh March proved the difference in a solid performance behind the closed doors of Lodge Road, as Rovers got their first run-out of 2020/21.

The first chance fell the way of Ebou Adams after nine minutes, the midfielder stinging the palms of Hannah from the edge of the area.

Rovers began to turn up the heat on a grey afternoon in South Gloucestershire, and 17 minutes in, forward Matty Stevens saw a header well saved from a corner.

A number of half-chances fell the way of the visitors, but the Bluebells keeper wasn’t called into action again until six minutes from the break. Aaron Collins powered in down the flank before striking the body of Hannah from a tight angle.

It was the hosts though who grabbed the final chance of the half as Luke McGee had to pull off a smart stop one-on-one to deny Sims-Burgess.

Rovers started the second half on the front foot once more, March and Jake Young both going close within 10 minutes of joining the fray.

The visitors left it late though, as Winchester eventually broke the deadlock with 79 minutes on the clock, picking the ball up outside the area before creating space on the spin and firing into the bottom corner.

With the game heading to its conclusion, March added the icing on the cake, capitalising on a defensive mix-up to tap into an empty net.

With chances aplenty, Head Coach Mark Cooper was quick to admit his side could have scored more, but remained pleased to see the pre-season campaign kick-off with a win.

“We had loads of chances today, it could have been 10,” he said.

You could see we were a little rusty in front of goal, but that will come as we get closer to the start of the season.

“We’re still early into pre-season and it’s the first game we’ve had. We’re looking at fitness primarily, and then we can work on getting the real quality down.”

This year’s pre-season will be like none that players, fans and staff have seen before, but Cooper is still confident that his side can work through it.

“The times we are in at the moment are uncharted,” he said.

“The players have been off for five months and as much as you give them stuff to do away from work, it’s very different to when you bring them back and start to play football.

“I’ve been trying to watch the football on the television, but I just can’t get into it. I feel sorry for the fans and the players. We want to play in front of our supporters, but we have to do what we have to do.

“If you play really well, it’s even worse that the fans aren’t there, but we want them back and we’re looking forward to when that’s possible again.”