Aldershot Town 3 Bristol City 0

The Shots beat a full-strength Bristol City side 3-0 thanks to two strikes from Marvin Morgan (one a penalty) plus a third from trialist Wade Small.

A sunny, pleasantly warm, vuvuzela-free afternoon at the EBB Stadium offered the Shots fans their first chance to see both the new home kit and the new signings. It could also be seen as the first real pre-season test for Kevin Dillon's men following three easy (but nonetheless confidence-building) victories against opposition from lower leagues.

Kevin Dillon's starting line-up consisted of 11 contracted players in a 4-2-3-1 formation. New arrivals Jamie Vincent, Luke Guttridge, Darren Jones, Glen Little and Manny Panther all started; trialists Aaron Brown, Clayton Fortune, Jake Hyde and Jack Saville were amongst the substitutes.

Ex-Shots loanee Marlon Jackson started the game for the visitors (who were at full strength), whilst fellow ex-loanee Stephen Henderson was on the bench.

On three minutes, Marvin Morgan ran strongly towards the visitors' penalty area at the High Street End and was fouled some 35 yards out, but nothing came of the resultant free-kick. New arrival Glen Little, playing in a central midfield role, showed some classy touches in the opening few minutes and was the fulcrum for several Shots moves all afternoon.

By the tenth minute, there had already been a succession of Bristol City attacks and corners, which came to nothing, mainly due to new Shots centre half Darren Jones' aerial strength. However, on the quarter-hour, the visitors put the home defence under real pressure for the first time, when Albert Adomah shot from the right-hand edge of box, forcing a strong palm away by Jamie Young for a corner; two subsequent corners were dealt with comfortably by the Shots.

Seven minutes later, Joe Edwards intercepted a ball from midfield by Glen Little that was intended for Anthony Straker and ran on towards the right-hand side of the box, but shot just over bar. Shortly after, the ball ran to Marlon Jackson, who shot from almost the same spot with an identical outcome.

The Shots continued to hold their own against their npower Championship opponents and, on 27 minutes, won their first corner of the game after good battling from Anthony Straker. Luke Guttridge's kick went straight to an unmarked Little near the penalty spot and the ex-Reading man headed powerfully towards the City goal, but Dean Gerken claimed the ball under pressure from Manny Panther.

Two minutes later, Panther ran up the right wing and crossed to Straker, who hit a thumping right-foot volley from 15 yards that Gerken pushed away. Just past the half-hour mark, there was some lovely interplay from Morgan and Guttridge in the left-hand channel, with the diminutive midfielder bursting into the penalty area. However, he was under pressure from two City defenders and his rather hurried shot was pushed away by Gerken.

Little's composure in midfield was serving the Shots well and he was continually involved. On 36 minutes, Guttridge floated another corner in with superb accuracy, but Marvin Morgan headed over. Two minutes later and it was the Robins' turn to attack as Adomah fed former Shots loanee Jackson just inside the left-hand corner of the home penalty area. Jackson hit his shot across Jamie Young, but it bounced off the far post to the waiting Ivan Sproule, who beat two defenders before shooting straight into a grounded Young's arms.

On 40 minutes, the Shots got their reward. Having just switched wings with Luke Guttridge, Anthony Straker ran up the right flank and threaded a ball straight into the stride of the advancing Marvin Morgan and the tall Mancunian slotted the ball past Gerken and into the bottom left-hand corner of the net from 12 yards. The same combination nearly paid dividends again on the opposite side of the penalty area four minutes later, but the Shots striker fired over from an angle.

The first half had been pretty even, but frenetic. However, the home fans could be happy with the way their team put together several short-passing moves at both ends of the pitch as well as the fact that they had had their fair share of chances. Further entertainment had been provided by a pair of WW2 spitfires that flew over mid-way through the half.

Half-Time: 1-0

The second half started at an understandably slower pace and without the usual amount of player changes usually associated with the pre-season interval.

On 52 minutes, a good exchange of passes from Little and Jones on the left wing following a short Guttridge corner saw the Welsh defender burst into the City penalty area and head towards the six-yard box. However, he couldn't get the ball out from under his feet, was dispossessed and the danger cleared.

The Shots back line continued to stand firm and dealt well with the lively City forwards.

As the hour mark approached, Glen Little took a short free-kick on the left wing and fed Manny Panther who, in turn, fed Darren Jones in the right-hand channel. Whilst centre halves aren't renowned for their shooting from distance, the Shots have obviously found one of the 'exceptions to the rule' as the ex-Newport County man unleashed a powerful shot from 25 yards that just fizzed over the bar.

On 62 minutes, the Shots doubled their lead thanks to that man Morgan. The giant forward was bearing down on the visitors' goal and preparing to shoot, but Welsh international Lewin Nyatanga fouled the Shots number 10, which resulted in a penalty. Marvin Morgan picked himself up, dusted himself down and placed his kick straight down the middle and past the diving Gerken.

Over the next few minutes, Danny Hylton and trialist Aaron Brown came on for Little and Jamie Vincent, with Anthony Straker switching to left back. Then, two more trialists in the shape of teenage Southampton centre half Jack Saville and ex-Barnet forward Jake Hyde replaced Jones and scorer Morgan respectively. A poor clearance from Saville on 72 minutes went to Sproule on the right wing. The ex-Northern Ireland international floated the ball to the far post, but Dave Clarkson and Marvin Elliott got in each other's way, resulting in the ball skimming harmlessly off the latter's head for a goal kick.

With Glen Little having departed, Manny Panther took on the starring role in midfield and the big Scotsman's strength and industry was complemented by his team-mates playing some lovely one-touch football.

With 12 minutes remaining, an air of mystery was introduced into the proceedings as Luke Guttridge was replaced by a substitute that wasn't listed on the matchday teamsheet; it later transpired that the 'man with no name' was 26-year-old ex-Chesterfield winger-cum-striker Wade Small. Three minutes later, Manny Panther was replaced by giant ex-Darlington defender Clayton Fortune.

On 83 minutes, it was 3-0. Having been on the pitch for little more than five minutes, Wade Small cut in from the left wing and curled a glorious right-footed shot into the top right-hand corner of the net from 20 yards.

The dying minutes of the game saw Anthony Straker replaced by Reece Connolly and City lay claim to the last act of the match, when Albert Adomah blazed over the bar from 30 yards out.

The 3-0 scoreline was both a tribute to how the Shots dealt with their 'higher' opposition and testament to the fact that Kevin Dillon's men were the better side in the second half.

Whilst it is often said that pre-season games are meaningless with regards to the results, a pre-season record to date of four wins from four games with no goals conceded can only be seen as a positive. Kevin Dillon will, as always, remain grounded. However, with his red-shirted players doing the business on the pitch and the Red Arrows performing a second half fly-past almost on cue, there was plenty for the Shots faithful to watch and be happy about.

Full Time: 3-0

Team: Jamie Young, Ben Herd, Jamie Vincent (Aaron Brown), Luke Guttridge (Wade Small), Darren Jones (Jack Saville), Anthony Charles, Glen Little (Danny Hylton), Ben Harding, Marvin Morgan (Jake Hyde), Anthony Straker (Reece Connolly), Manny Panther (Clayton Fortune)

Unused substitute - Jordan Clement

Referee: Danny McDermid
Assistants: Eamonn Smith and Charles Breakspear
Fourth Official: Ian Kitchen

Attendance: 1048 (including 193 from Bristol City)