Gala Fairydean Rovers 1

Edinburgh City 4

Kenny Paterson

at Netherdale 3G Arena

A DOUBLE from ex-Gala Fairydean striker Allan Smith helped Edinburgh City secure a comfortable pre-season win at Netherdale.

But the new look Fairydean Rovers had some bright moments on a balmy evening punctuated by substitutions and two water breaks due to the hot conditions.

Gala manager Dean Shanks was certainly positive at full time, despite his team’s second loss in five days to league opposition.

Shanks said: “It is going to take some time for the team to gel, with a lot of new faces.

“Edinburgh City are a strong team but it could have been different if we had taken our chance at 2-0. Instead, City go up the other end of the pitch and make it 3-0 and that was game over.

“We have four or five players we have signed to come into the squad for the next game, and I am hoping to add a couple more. I am really pleased with how the squad is shaping up.”

Selkirk-based Smith was a promising teenager when he played at Netherdale.

Now 24, he has signed with City for this season after spells at Dunfermline, Stenhousemuir and Peterhead, and got off to a great start with a neat finish on five minutes.

And he made it 2-0 on 33 minutes with an opportunistic goal, closing down young Gala goalkeeper Luca Scarpa and blocking his clearance into the net.

Gala started with five new signings and one of them had the best chance of the first half for the homesters when Tommy Patterson cut inside and curled a decent effort which Calum Antell saved.

The key moment in the game came at the start of the second half when Gala sub Mitchell set the lively Phil Addison clear, but the ex-Selkirk man saw his effort saved by Antell.

And just a couple of minutes later, City were awarded a penalty when Kieran Ainslie pushed Smith in the box, and new City signing Blair Henderson – who hails from Earlston – squeezed his spot kick under Scarpa.

Mitchell scored Gala’s first goal of the season with a lovely curling finish from the edge of the area with seven minutes to go, but the goal of the night was saved til late on when Edinburgh’s Graham Taylor used the outside of his boot to flick a volley into the top corner.

Gala Fairydean Rovers: L. Scarpa, B. Herdman, A. Trialist, S. Main, K. Ainslie, D. Smith, T. Patterson, S. Conaghan, J. Morris, R. Craigie, P. Addison. Subs: C. Riddell, F. Neave, C. Mitchell, D. Brown, G. Brown, L. Stephen, C. Heugh, B. Miller, R. Jeffrey.