MATCH REPORT- Gloucester City 5-0 Hanwell Town

Gloucester City returned to winning ways after putting in a five star performnce against Hanwell Town in a match which had a number of standout performances.

The first 20 minutes of the match were fairly even with both sides feeling each other out, with the Geordies potentially edging proceedings but neither side really coming close to scoring.

Kieran Phillips had come closest to City after Harry Pinchard dispossessed a Hanwell player but Phillips strike was well held by Samuel Beasant.

Phillips who had been playing well had to be subbed mid way through the first half with what looks like to be a reoccurrence of the hamstring issues he has been plagued with in 2024/25.

He had to be replaced by Brandon Smalley who would have his own impact on the match.

Just five minutes later however, City took the lead with on loan from Chippenham midfielder Jake Evans bagging his first goal for the club.

Fine play by City saw the ball fall for Evans who unleashed a powerful strike into the bottom right hand corner and leaving Beasant with no chance to keep out.

City took the initiative of making it 1-0 to push for a second and they would be duly rewarded by Welsh duo of Pinchard and Elis Watts to combine to double their lead.

10 minutes after the first goal Pinchard who was everywhere on the pitch put in a teasing ball and there was Watts masquerading as a centre forward to defly flick the ball into the net to give City control of the contest.

Hanwell were not going to give up and on the stroke of half time went close but Ben Richards Everton was there to make a crucial block to ensure that the Tigers went into the break with a comfortable first half lead.

It didn't take long for City to add their third and put an end to any hopes that Hanwell had of rescuing a point from the match.

Watts who scored the second turned provider fed Dayle Grubb back in the starting XI who beat the offside trap and cooly dispatched his strike into the bottom left corner just three minutes into the second period.

The Geordies high-line was causing them havoc for the entire contest and it would only be 10 minutes into the second half where City had grabbed two quick-fire goals.

The second of which was scored by Watts for his second of the match when Brandon Smalley played in a exquisite ball that fell to the Welshman and with the form that he had been in the match it was little double whether he would score or not.

The 22-year-old rolled the ball into the bottom right corner in another brilliant performance by the recent recruit.

City did have chances to add their fifth with Dayle Grubb latching onto a strike which bended just above the top right slaloming run saw him breeze past multiple Hanwell defenders before he blazed high and wide.

Just under 15 minutes from time City did eventually grab their fifth in what was the pick of the bunch after excellent team play.

The impressive Pinchard played through Smalley after the away sides defence was left watching, with him checking his run and playing it back to Watts.

Watts then found Grubb on the overlap and ran into space to put across the box into Smalley who couldn't believe his luck to just tap home from on the goal line.

Harry Emmett who came on a sub for the announcers player of the match Grubb nearly made it six after a header from the Hanwell defender deflected into the patch of Emmett but his chip went just wide of the onrushing Beasant.

The away side did have chances in the second half but rarely tested Luke Bell in the City goal, Chaynie Burgin did have the ball in the City net right at the dying embers of the match but it was ruled offside.

After two defeats on the trot and a poor performance away last time out against Hungerford Town this was exactly the return to winning ways that City needed.

This was also the Tigers second 5-0 drubbing at the TigerTurf Stadium in three games after the win last month against Winchester City sandwiching the defeat against play-off rivals Walton & Hersham.

Next time out is a crucial match away to play-off hopefuls Havant & Waterloovile who sit three points off the top five spots and a win for City would leave them on the brink of securing a playoff spot of their own as the 2024/25 season begins to draw to a close.