Manager Gary Johnson was pleased to see his Cheltenham Town continue to make progress as they defeated Cirencester Town 4-0 at the Corinium Stadium on Friday night.
Mo Eisa grabbed a first half hat-trick while a trialist also scored a well-taken goal as the Robins earned a comfortable victory.
And Johnson was pleased to see how his new-look side gelled and also the return of goalkeeper Scott Flinders after hip surgery at the end of last season.
“Both teams wanted to be competitive, which was good and credit to them as well,” said Johnson.
“We were strong in the first half and played to our shape and our pattern. The boys showed they can play. Of course it’s not quite Bristol City but you still have to use the spaces and use your ability.
“The two strikers took their goals really well and we created a few opportunities for them. In the second half obviously we changed quite a bit, but the young lads did well.
“You have to get something out of these games and I got a really good first half and two or three players in the second half proved their worth as well.
“You could see the pace of Alex Addai, Matty Bower looks like he can compete with the group and Fozzy (Jordon Forster) had a good 75 or 80 minutes, which was great and he needed that. All in all it was a good exercise.
“It was great to see Scotty (Flinders) back too. You have to ease them back in and he kicked a couple of times and he was fine. We will hold his kicking back a little bit but when we get into the Birmingham came he’ll be kicking his full distance.”
Johnson was also full of praise for hat-trick hero Eisa and insisted the club would not lose their star asset for anything less than his true worth.
“The thing with Mo at the moment is that everybody is interested, but they are not offering his worth,” said Johnson.
“As far as the club is concerned, as long as Mo and his representative understand, he will get there, but he is our silverware at the moment and our crown jewel. He is still enjoying his game and his finishing is unbelievable.”
The Robins next face Reading Under-23s in a behind closed doors fixture on Tuesday before travelling to Evesham United next Thursday.
“Johnny Mullins, Joshua Debayo and Kev Dawson should be fine for Tuesday,” added Johnson.
“We had a big day on Thursday, working them hard. A couple had slight little strains so we had to manage that and get them ready for Tuesday.”