Second-year scholar Will Green felt the challenges Rovers U18s faced in their 4-2 defeat at Ashby Ivanhoe will only help to improve his side moving forward.
The midfielder opened the scoring at the NFU Sports Ground with a superb freekick before Jaiden Campbell-Ryce added a second Rovers goal, but an experienced Ashby side proved too much on the day.
Despite falling to defeat in their first pre-season test, Green insisted the challenge faced would assist Frank Sinclair’s side in the long run.
Green said: “I thought it was a tough game and a different type to what we’re used to playing because they were a lot more physical than the types of opposition we’ve been playing against.
“It was challenging but I thought we handled it well in the first half and we got ahead in the game twice so it's been a good experience for us and definitely one that will help us moving forward.
“This game will stand us in good stead though going into the next few games because the teams we having coming up all bring a different challenge, but the physicality of Ashby will be the biggest difference to all of them.
“It will definitely help the team going forward because we’ve had a good crack at dealing with a big side like theirs and we’re not going to play against sides that are as physical as them in the league.”
Green’s strike nine minutes in was a finish the wide man has become known for, having proved to be quite the set-piece specialist last season, but he admitted his latest one wasn’t supposed to happen.
He added: “Sam Brown was actually supposed to take the free kick but when the wall was set up, I told him I fancied it because I felt I had a good chance of whipping it in.
“Then when I’ve hit it, it did what I wanted it to and it’s gone in so it's good to get off the mark.”