Saturday 26 July 2003 - Meadow Park - kick off 3.00pm Friendly

From the opening minutes it was clear that neither side was taking the game lightly and a few lively challenges kept the interest of the small crowd. The first chance of the game fell to City on 12 minutes, Steve Tweddle’s close range effort bringing a smart stop out home keeper Bath. Any good work from Gloucester was coming from ex-City midfielder Jimmy Cox and it was his cross that just eluded Hoskins after 16 minutes. However, the physical striker only had to wait another four minutes for a second opening and this time he made no mistake. Griffiths out jumped Milton to head Burns’ centre back across goal where Hoskins headed past Mark Bryant. Three minutes later City’s best move of the game. involving Tweddle and Paul Milsom. ended with Drew Shore getting fouled right on the edge of the Gloucester box. Milton could only blast the free-kick into the wall, though. A last ditch tackle on Shore moments later denied the midfielder a good chance and half-hearted penalty appeals for a push on Milsom were turned down. An equaliser was looking likely but just past the half hour mark a stunning 30-yard shot by Jenkins saw City fall further behind instead. Eight minutes before the interval City finally pulled a goal back. Tweddle easily shrugged off his marker and when his shot was blocked by Bath, Milsom blasted the loose ball into the net. Hoskins almost restored his sides two-goal advantage before half time, shooting just wide from a Cox cross.

A weak header by Jason Eaton, on at the break for Tweddle, shortly after the restart and a series of corners kept the pressure on the home side only for another goal against the run of play to stun City on 52 minutes. Again Hoskins benefited from poor marking to place a header past the exposed Bryant. Frankie Bennett’s low drive forced a good save out of Bath just before the hour and Eaton saw a shot blocked away for a corner but City seemed to be running out of ideas and Gloucester were less and less stretched by their efforts. What little urgency remained in City’s performance was coming from substitute Matt Coupe, although it was largely directed into a running battle with the two-goal star Hoskins. Two or three times the players clashed, and in a more competitive match both could have been looking at an early bath. In the end the latter finally let his football do some talking and, but for a excellent save by Bryant, could have claimed a hat-trick. At the final whistle both players embraced showing there was little real malice in the confrontations and, in the context of the reasons behind the game, it was a pleasing conclusion to the proceedings.