Cheltenham Town 2 Gloucester City 1
First-half goals from Sam Deering and summer signing Matt Richards were enough to earn Cheltenham Town a friendly win over old rivals Gloucester City.
Deering's second goal of the pre-season period arrived in the fifth minute.
He placed a low shot into the bottom left corner, beyond the outstretched arm of James Bittner, with Jamie Cureton the provider after Keith Lowe had started a swift passing move.
It was 2-0 in the 19th minute when Matt Richards thumped in a perfectly placed shot from 25 yards, giving Bittner no chance.
Cheltenham used a diamond midfield, with Russ Penn and Richards either side, Jason Taylor holding and Deering the most advanced.
It worked well in the first period, with Cheltenham firmly in control against their Blue Square Bet North opponents.
Bittner saved from Penn and smothered at the feet of Cureton, while Scott Brown was untroubled at the other end.
The Tigers pulled one back in the 70th minute and it was a scrappy strike from substitute Joe Parker.
He stabbed in from close range after Connor Roberts blocked an initial effort after Cheltenham failed to deal with a set piece.
Cheltenham looked less comfortable after making seven changes just after the hour, with Gloucester giving a creditable display.
Youth team winger Zack Kotwica impressed after going on and he seems likely to spend the majority of the season with Mark Yates' first team squad.
Most recent addition Craig Braham-Barrett made his first appearance in Cheltenham colours at left-back in the second half, with Ashley Vincent also featuring up front following his return to the club from Port Vale after a four-year absence.
CHELTENHAM TOWN: S Brown (C Roberts 62); K Lowe, T Brown (S Jombati 62), S Elliott (D O'Donnell 62), B Jones (C Braham-Barrett 62); R Penn (J McGlashan 62), J Taylor, S Deering, M Richards (Z Kotwica 62); B Harrison, J Cureton (A Vincent 62). Sub not used: T Gornell.
GLOUCESTER CITY: J Bittner; S Rawlings (R Batten 70), M Green (J Tumelty 85), J Harris, T Weir; L Hogg (S Turl 55), T Webb, M Liddiard (M Coupe 46), M Groves (L Binns 85); D Edwards, S Wilson (J Parker 65). Subs not used: N Phillips, A Taylor, K Tracey.
REFEREE: S Bratt.
ATTENDANCE: 571 (98 away).
STAR MEN: Matt Richards (Cheltenham Town), Matt Groves (Gloucester City).
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