Bristol City 0 Rushden & Diamonds 1

A Dean McDonald goal after 34 minutes was enough to seal an excellent victory for Rushden & Diamonds over Championship side Bristol City in a game played at Lagoa in the Algarve. The Robins fielded a strong line-up, but excellent defending made their chances few and far between, and the Diamonds had several other good chances to increase their lead.

After an excellent showing up front on Wednesday against Portimonense, it was the Diamonds defence that took great credit for keeping at bay the likes of Michael McIndoe, Dele Akebola, Lee Trundle and Kevin Betsy. The Diamonds midfield also showed it was capable of holding its own against higher ranked opponents, albeit in a friendly environment, and a selection of strike partnerships created several good chances that might have increased the Diamonds lead. The Robins chances were limited to one in each half of any substance.

On a warm evening in Lagoa, the Diamonds took to the field on a pitch where the crowd were separated from the players by an eight foot barbed-wire fence around the perimeter. Ex-Diamond Stuart Naylor appeared as the goalkeeping coach for the Robins as they lined up in front of 75 of their fans - but for this game the Diamonds contingent had been swelled to over 20.

With Robert Wolleaston and Andy Burgess still recovering from injuries (although both are starting to resume training, and hope to be fit for the start of the season), the same squad that appeared on Wednesday were selected for the game - although player-coach Chris Hope elected to remain on the sidelines.

The Diamonds started very brightly with both Lee Tomlin and Marcus Kelly raiding down their respective wings, and Curtis Woodhouse and Scott Mitchell linking up well as the midfield pair.

Up front it was the Diamonds who created the first real chance of the game, with Lee Tomlin willing to run at the defence, beating the first defender, but having his shot blocked by a second. Tomlin then turned provider, with an excellent cross from the right narrowly cut out before McDonald could pounce.

The harrying of Lee Phillips allowed him to rob Bradley Orr and have a clear run on goal. His first touch was rather strong, allowing Basso to force him to check, but the ball broke to Dean McDonald who elected to chip, and saw his effort loop to safety as a defender scrambled to cover the empty net.

At the back both Gulliver and Burton were keeping their opponents relatively quiet, and both Jelleyman and Corcoran were always available to cover should they be required.

Michael McIndoe represented the Robins greatest threat down the left, and he did manage a couple of dangerous looking crosses which the Diamonds defence did well to clear for corners. Alan Marriott was commanding his area, and able to easily field these corners.

Dean McDonald continued to press the Robin's defence, and it was his persistence that meant he robbed a sluggish defender and fed Marcus Kelly on the edge of the "D". Kelly took a touch before shooting, but this allowed a defender to block his shot.

On 34 minutes the Diamonds took the lead, and again it was Dean McDonald that harried Orr into a mistake, and the striker took the ball forward and hit a good shot that went in-off the post.

The Robins threatened to hit back quickly, with Sagi Burton having to put in a saving tackle on Artus before Dele Akebola had City's best chance of the half, with the Robins continuing when the referee didn't spot a foul on Curtis Woodhouse, and the ex-Coventry City striker was clean through on goal, but Marriott did well to smother the danger.

Lee Tomlin continued to have an impressive game, with a number of stopovers as he raided into the area, but again he took too much time to get his shot in. He showed the other side of his game with a tackle in front of the Robins fans that brought warranted criticism.

Half-Time : Bristol City 0 Rushden & Diamonds 1

The Robins made nine changes at the interval, bringing on Kevin Betsy and Steve Brooker up-front to look for more than Trundle and Akebola had achieved, but the Diamonds midfield of Mitchell and Woodhouse continued to look more determined than their opposite numbers, meaning that more of the chances were for the Diamonds, with Lee Phillips continuing to hustle the Championship defenders.

Betsy did look an immediate threat in a similar role to McIndoe, and created an initial chance for Brooker, but the whistle had gone well before the striker put the ball in the net. Otherwise Gulliver and Burton stood firm.

Michael Corcoran came to the rescue shortly before being substituted as he put in a saving tackle on Betsy, a player who has previously tormented the Diamonds. Jon Challinor replaced Corcoran, and slotted into his right back role.

Lee Tomlin continued to threaten, and he saw a powerful shot fly just wide of the far post, and then did his share of defending duties at the other end. Dean McDonald was replaced by Daryl Clare, and the replacement almost set up his partner Phillips with his first touch, but the linesman's flag signalled offside. He then made a great turn in the area to hit a powerful shot that Weale did well to save.

Jamie McGuinness replaced Lee Tomlin on the right, and took over where Tomlin had left off, with a number of dangerous looking crosses. Alan Marriott continued to look confident, with a number of catches as well as a save from Daniel Noble after Betsy had outstripped Challinor.

Clare continued to threaten, and he was unlucky to be narrowly beaten to a through ball by Chris Weale. Curtis Woodhouse's workrate was astounding in the heat, with perhaps his extra fitness due to his boxing career paying dividends for the Diamonds captain.

Woodhouse and Phillips both have a great willingness to chase down lost causes, and they combined to rob the Robins defenders twice in a period of play in the left hand corner. Woodhouse fed Kelly, who ran to the byline and hit a cross that found Phillips in plenty of space just outside the six-yard box, but he miscued his shot straight at Weale,

Michael Rankine replaced Lee Phillips shortly afterwards, and brought a new dimension to the Diamonds attack. He won 6 straight 50-50 challenges with his opposing Championship defenders, and was starting to feed Daryl Clare on a regular basis.

Woodhouse also saved his team on his own line, cutting out a Betsy cross when the central pairing were beaten. Gareth Jelleyman continued to impress when Justyn Roberts replaced Marcus Kelly, allowing him to move forward to Kelly's role, with Roberts filling in behind him.

Daryl Clare shot over from a McGuinness cross as it was always the Diamonds that looked more likely to get the next goal in the game. Jake Beecroft replaced Scott Mitchell who had impressed throughout in his midfield role, after his difficult game at full-back on Wednesday. Jelleyman finally got a deserved rest as he was replaced by Sam Smith .

The Robins did have one moment when they thought they might have got something from a game they didn't deserve any reward, as a Lee Johnson shot flew just wide of the left-hand post, although it took several seconds for the Robins fans to realised the ball had not gone into the net. Other than that, and a couple of confident catches from Marriott, there was little to trouble the Diamonds defence in front of goal.

The game thus ended in a creditable 1-0 victory for the Diamonds - a result which matters less for the score, than for the quality of the workout on a hot evening. It is one that can only help the team to come together for the new season, with Burgess and Wolleaston watching from the sidelines, and Curtis Osano ready to join his team-mates on their return from tour.

After the game Manager Garry Hill stressed how satisfied he was with the team's performance, and the tour in general, and goalscorer Dean McDonald paid tribute to all of his team-mates for their performance against a club that play in a league three levels higher than them.

Final Score : Bristol City 0 Rushden & Diamonds 1

Diamonds Starting Line Up : Alan Marriott : Michael Corcoran - Sagi Burton - Phil Gulliver - Gareth Jelleyman : Lee Tomlin - Scott Mitchell - Curtis Woodhouse - Marcus Kelly : Dean McDonald - Lee Phillips

Substitutes Used : Jon Challinor (for Corcoran 51) - Daryl Clare (for McDonald 54) - Jamie McGuinness (For Tomlin 57) - Michael Rankine (for Phillips 64) - Jake Beecroft (for Mitchell 68) - Justyn Roberts (for Kelly 71) - Sam Smith (for Jelleyman 82)

Bristol City : Adriano Basso, Bradley Orr, Jamie McAllister, Cole Skuse, Louis Carey, Liam Fontaine, Scott Murray, Frankie Artus, Lee Trundle, Dele Akebola, Michael McIndoe. Subs : James Wilson, Lee Johnson, Ivan Sproule, Brian Wilson, Daniel Noble, Kevin Betsy, Steve Brooker, Jennison Myrie-Williams, Chris Weale

Diamonds Goalscorer : Dean McDonald (34)

Diamonds Man of the Match (joint) : Phil Gulliver and Sagi Burton