Pre-season Friendly Friday 27 July 2007 - Twerton Park - kick off 7.45pm

The last time these two teams met two defensive mistakes by City allowed Gloucester to travel back up the M5 with a 2-2 draw but this time all the charitable donations were off the pitch. With the visitor’s Meadow Park ground swimming beneath over 7 foot of water, City’s fifth pre-season outing of the summer was switched to Twerton Park. And as a gesture of goodwill all gate receipts, 50/50 profits and tea bar takings were donated to the troubled Tigers. However, once the match started City comfortably overcame their former league rivals, the final scoreline of 2-0 failing to truly reflect the difference in quality between the sides. It was a changed line-up with which City began the game, Sekani Simpson starting in the middle of defence alongside Chris Holland with Jim Rollo and Mike Green filling the full-back roles. In midfield trialist Justin McKay made his first start and Craig Davidge overcame a slight thigh strain to start the match.

The clash began in typical pre-season fashion with both sides struggling to create any fluency to their game. It was Gloucester who settled first when a strong run from the pacy forward Pitcher down the left side saw him cross toward Griffin only for a well-timed tackle from Green to deflect the ball away for a corner. Neat interplay between the same two players threatened to open up City once more minutes later only for Green to again react first to the danger. As City began to get a foothold in the game it was clear their biggest threat was Davidge on the right flank. On 14 minutes he cut inside and fired a shot straight at keeper Sawyer. He then left Gloucester’s no.3 Buttery trailing before drilling a low cross into the six-yard box that Sawyer did well to smoother. All City’s attacking intent was coming via Davidge’s orange trimmed boots, his next run and cross almost picking out Darren Edwards at the far post. A mis-hit cross following a neat pass from McKay may have given Gloucester hope that the end product would fail to improve but on 24 minutes he gave City a deserved lead. A great cross-field pass from Edwards allowed him cut inside the exposed Tomkins and place a 15-yard left-foot shot into the corner of the net. City almost repeated the generosity of their league meeting back in March to gift Gloucester an equaliser three minutes later when a poor back pass by Green had Paul Evans desperately knocking the ball behind for a corner. This came to nothing but appeared to lift the visitors as shortly afterwards Evans had to be at his best to turn a dipping Griffin shot over the bar. After 34 minutes City doubled their lead – Mark McKeever took advantage of a slip by Tomkins to lift a cross toward Davidge that he placed perfectly past Sawyer on the volley. Edwards had a great chance to make it 3-0 before the interval, heading McKay’s cross over, and Gloucester did finish the half well but typically strong defending preventing them testing Evans again.

City introduced Matt Coupe and Gethin Jones at half-time for Simpson and Holland, but it was once again Davidge that the Tigers failed to handle, a great one-two with McKay sending him racing clear only to over-hit his centre. City were now enjoying their best spell of the game as a Gilroy header from a McKeever free-kick forced a flying save out of Sawyer. From the resultant corner only a goalline clearance denied Davidge his hat-trick. He was replaced five minutes later by Lewis Hogg, as McKeever and Edwards also made way for Jason Wood and Phil Walsh respectively. If Gloucester thought this would signal an end to their struggles they were to be disappointed as all three substitutes continued to torment them. Wood and Hogg were the first to combine with a move that almost opened up the visitors again, then a driving burst forward by Wood saw him centre perfectly for Gilroy, only for the striker to blast a shot high over the bar. Hogg subsequently broke out from midway in the City half and was racing forward only to be blatantly body-checked by Thompson that in a competitive match would have earned the right-back at least a booking. It did appear that the referee instructed the Gloucester bench to replace the player in a now classic friendly manner but this was ignored and Thompson continued as if nothing had happened. As in the first half Gloucester ended the game well, Reid sending a long-range shot narrowly wide and Welsh heading a Thompson cross just over Evans’ goal.

In a game that was about much more than the on-field events City can be pleased on two fronts. The crowd of just under 300 will have raised much needed funds to help Gloucester recover from their troubles and shows how the non-league community can come together when disaster strikes one of their own. And after three home defeats, admittedly against league opposition, it was a timely step forward in their preparation for the 2007-08 Blue Square Conference South season against a side that should be amongst the front-runners in next season’s Southern League. Craig Davidge did himself no harm at all in trying earn that elusive starting XI place and Mike Green and Jim Rollo both showed the strength in depth that City’s squad should contain next season. Finally, trialists Justin McKay and Jason Wood both gave manager John Relish (and chairman Geoff Todd) some difficult decisions in the next few weeks.