It was another good workout for the Blues at Raydale Park on Tuesday night with goals in both halves to keep the thousand strong crowd happy.
Assistant manager Gav Skelton gave us thoughts after the game.
“It was another enjoyable evening,” he agreed. “I think it was successful all round. We got a lot from it with us having trained this morning and then taken that into the game on the night. That makes it a good working day for the lads.
“Gretna have got another game under their belt and it was a good crowd. That means everyone’s a winner.
“What we wanted to see was that the lads would keep up the intensity levels from the session we had and credit to them. That’s exactly what they did.
“It is difficult when the game becomes comfortable and, with no disrespect to Gretna, that’s how it was at times. We showed a good attitude to keep trying to do the right things and if we did lose the ball we looked to regain it as quickly as we could.
“We ended up creating some good opportunities and we probably could have scored more.”
The quality of the goals scored was definitely a highlight of the night.
“Any goal is a good goal, isn’t it,” he said. “We saw some really good finishes with the approach play to go with it. The movement and passing was there and it’s something to build on.
“It’s nice to see that Romeo Park scored, and Kai Nugent got one, and neither of them will forget that. It’s a great moment for them.
“I spoke to Romeo after the game and his mam, dad and grandad were here, so they’ll be very proud. He’s at Wigan with the youth team on Wednesday, so he knows he’s got to stay grounded, but he’ll be pleased.”
On the absence of Sam Lavelle, he told us: “He’s down in London sorting a few of his last bits and bobs out.
“I did wonder if people would be asking if he’s gone back or he hadn’t actually signed but all joking aside, no, he’s just getting himself sorted down there.
“Thankfully we got him signed in time to get him involved on Friday night but he now wants to move up here, and that means he has some loose ends to tie up.”
The evening, of course, was an opportunity to say thank you to Gretna for the help they give the Blues with the use of their facility.
“They’re always really accommodating and it’s a really good facility,” he said. “We get to use it pretty much whenever we need it in the winter, which we really appreciate.
“Hopefully with them getting a good crowd it will help them, and it’s good to have these strong relationships.”
There was a lovely moment ahead of the game when the stadium stood for a minute of applause in respect of Dave Wilkes.
“It was a difficult day for the club in terms of saying goodbye to Dave,” he told us. “That was a nice moment seeing everybody join together and I’m sure his family will feel proud that it happened.”