Exeter City manager, Paul Tisdale, praised his side after they ran out comfortable winners in a 6-1 victory over Dorchester Town at the Avenue Stadium.
Goals from David Wheeler, Reuben Reid, Jake Taylor, Lloyd James, Pierce Sweeney and youngster Jack Sparkes sealed the win in Dorset to round off City’s pre-season campaign.
City take on Cambridge United in their opening match of the 2017/18 season on August 5, and Tisdale was pleased with how the Grecians rounded off their pre-season campaign.
He said: “It’s all about getting ready for the August 5, and today was a good step towards that.
“We were maybe a bit more efficient than we have been in a couple of the games recently but I was really pleased with what they did. The boys all made a good step towards being ready.”
Tisdale was also delighted to see six different players get themselves on the scoresheet against Town, with the likes of Sweeney and James adding to the regular goal scorers in Reid and Wheeler.
But despite the good result, the City boss is more than aware of the test that competitive football will pose next week against Shaun Derry’s Cambridge.
He continued: “We had a nice sharing of the goals today, Reuben scored, David scored, Jake scored and another three really good goals. We’ve won today, convincingly, but I’m not too chuffed about it either.
“It’s about next week and none of these games actually give us the reality that we’re going to get next week. It was certainly good to get the ball into the back of the net but it’s not something we’re going to be bleating about.”
Tisdale was also keen to praise youngsters Sparkes and Sam Haynes for their involvement in the match.
Sparkes, who has often impressed during pre-season after turning out some bold appearances with some confident attacking play, notched City’s final goal of the afternoon, much to the delight of the City manager.
He said: “It will always be our first thought, when there’s a spot available in the team have we got one of our own who are ready and deserving of a chance. We will continue to do so.
“Both chaps did really well. Jack has had an outing or two this pre-season and it was nice to see Haynes coming on, he’s a good young player and a very nice boy to boot.”