"I felt it was right after the last couple of performances to shake things up a little bit," said Trollope, who had seen his side look punchless in attack when they had lost at Colchester a week earlier.
"Andy has different attributes to the other strikers and has waited patiently and worked very hard to force his way back into our plans.
"We thought we could expose one or two things with his pace, his height and his power. He certainly did that to good effect."
Swindon had arrived with four league wins in a row behind them and made a bright enough start, but their frailty down the left flank was soon to be exposed.
Latching on to a well-judged ball over the top by Pat Baldwin, Williams seized on his opportunity, brushing aside Robins' left-back Lecsinel Jean-Francois before firing an angled shot under keeper David Lucas.
Barely had the home fans' celebrations subsided before Williams put Swindon ever deeper in the mire. This time he provided a cross from the same flank and as the visitors' back line waited for it to arrive, Jeff Hughes beat them to it with a run to the near post which culminated with him flicking the ball high into the net.
Swindon looked shell-shocked, although they almost hit back in the 24th minute – only for Billy Paynter's curling effort to come back off a post.
But they were to suffer further damage 10 minutes later when Stuart Campbell's free kick found Jo Kuffour in the box. Once again, the visitors' defending was highly questionable as the diminutive striker was allowed time to slam home a shot from 12 yards.
Although Steve Elliott had to make a goal-line clearance to prevent Alan Sheehan giving the Robins a glimmer of hope just before the break, the visitors were to squander the opportunities they did manage to create in the second half.
Soon after the re-start, substitute Alan O'Brien fatally delayed his finish from a Paynter cross when Rovers were outnumbered at the back and Mikkel Andersen was able to block.
And their afternoon was summed up as Jonathan Douglas skied a volley high over the top when well-placed 10 yards from goal.
After Rovers' inconsistencies in recent weeks, the Pirates once again looked like a side with round pegs in the right-shaped holes and there was a much better balance to their side.
Pat Baldwin and Steve Elliott were both hugely impressive in central defence, while Aaron Lescott made a seamless and impressive return to the left-back berth, allowing Hughes the chance to resume doing what he does best – cause havoc from the flank.
The Northern Irishman was desperately unlucky to see an impudent and inspired chip shot beat Lucas and hit the bar. On the other flank, Mark Wright offered his best home display yet and was also unfortunate when his 22-yarder flew inches too high.
Chris Dickson also gave a reminder from the bench, going close with a fiercely-struck angled shot and drawing a good save from Lucas with a volley before creating a late chance for Darryl Duffy, who just failed to clip the ball over the advancing keeper.
Duffy had replaced Williams 15 minutes from time and the former Hereford man deserved every moment of the ovation he received on his way off.
"Andy was transfer listed in the summer but has shown resilience and a good mental strength to come back from the position he found himself in," acknowledged Trollope.
"We were pleased with his contribution in general. He was a nuisance all afternoon, he deserved his goal – and the applause when he came off. His versatility will prove vital for us as the season goes on."
Swindon manager Danny Wilson was at a loss to explain why his side's defence suddenly looked so porous – and his much-vaunted strikeforce so wasteful.
"It was a really weird game," said the former Ashton Gate boss. "We were on the front foot and got caught by Rovers' first breakout. Then we got done again pretty much straight afterwards and made life difficult for ourselves.
"We were caught sleeping for the third goal and when things like that happen, it is just unexplainable sometimes. We have been very good at keeping it tight and being solid in a lot of our games this season and there were chances for us to get back in it.
"We had five or six great chances but Rovers took their opportunities and we didn't take ours."
Read more aboutPat Baldwin,Danny Wilson,Jo Kuffour,Chris Dickson,Stuart Campbell,David Lucas,Paul Trollope,Darryl Duffy,Billy Paynter,Mikkel Andersen,Andy Williams,Ashton Gate,Steve Elliott,Alan Sheehan,Aaron Lescott,Jonathan Douglas,Mark Wright,Jeff Hughes,Hereford
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