A low-key day in the West Country taught Albion little they did not know already.

It simply screamed a clear reminder of the summer’s top priority.

The trip to Bristol offered further signs that the Baggies of 2010 will return to the Premier League with several facets of their team in better shape than two years ago.

The third fixture of pre-season suggested, as the previous two had, that Roberto Di Matteo’s side will enter the top flight better drilled than the side of 2008.

A second successive clean sheet and a disciplined display by most of their defenders gave plenty of encouragement to the small band of fans who made the trip.

Now Di Matteo will take on the country’s best sides with a midfield department at least as talented and arguably better balanced than Tony Mowbray’s team.

But, just three weeks before the season begins against reigning champions Chelsea, the need for Albion to beef up their forward line remains as clear as ever.

With Roman Bednar, Ishmael Miller and Simon Cox all absent through minor injuries, Di Matteo was left with Marcus Haber and Luke Moore as the only men to spearhead his side.

The Canadian performed a neat and tidy job without offering any evidence he is ready for regular first-team action.

Moore caught the eye with a late clearance off his own line, yet achieved next to nothing at the end of the field where the Baggies wanted him to make an impact.

There was plenty of possession and lots of invention, but again it was left to Graham Dorrans to burst from midfield and grab the winning goal.

In an echo of two years ago, Albion are in desperate need of a forward with pedigree. Unlike 2008, they cannot afford to draw a blank. Otherwise, Saturday’s match was devoid of excitement or interest.

It was the hosts who could have been ahead with less than two minutes on the clock when Jonas Olsson was penalised for a foul on the edge of the box and Chris Lines curled a free-kick around the wall and against Scott Carson’s right-hand post.

But Albion found their feet and, on nine minutes, constructed a pleasing move from which Jerome Thomas could have opened the scoring.

Chris Brunt’s cross was headed away from Haber by Byron Anthony as far as Thomas, whose shot was charged down bravely by Danny Coles.

On 13 minutes the Baggies threatened again when a neat ball from Dorrans sent Haber clear between two defenders but he lashed his shot just past the angle.

With nine minutes remaining before half-time Albion almost took a freak lead when Brunt’s free-kick from the left was diverted towards his own goal by Anthony and Rovers goalkeeper Mike Green had to make a smart save.

There was a half-chance on the stroke of half-time when Brunt’s cross found Dorrans at full stretch at the far post, who could only glance his header wide.

But it took just five minutes of the second-half for Albion to break the deadlock.

Half-time substitute Gabriel Tamas clipped a ball wide to the left into the run of Thomas, who raced away before squaring with his left-foot for Dorrans to finish with a close-range header.

Albion had to withstand a period of Rovers pressure that could have brought a goal when Wayne Brown’s corner found the head of Lines but his effort was too close to Carson, who made a comfortable save.

The game petered out amid a succession of second-half substitutions but the Baggies carved out a half-chance when substitute Giles Barnes skipped into the box from the left and centred towards Moore, only for Carl Regan to intercept.

Then Carson was forced to make a smart flying late save to keep out a Lamar Powell volley.

By Steve Madeley