City won their fifth and final pre-season game this afternoon, defeating Dundee United 2-1 at the Circle.

Nigel Pearson fielded what looks very close to being our starting XI next week, necessarily shorn of the services of Boaz Myhill and declining to select Jimmy Bullard. However, the mood was lifted slightly when our great midfield hope Tom Cairney opened the scoring after ten minutes, sweeping home a shot from outside the penalty area after being teed up by Richard Garcia.

It didn’t take the visitors long to equaliser, however. A free-kick was swung in, a Terror was unmarked, 1-1. Ho hum.

After the break, City again scored early in the proceedings when a Solano free-kick was parried by the United keeper onto one of his own defenders, who looked on as the ball rolled into the empty net. Cullen had a goal disallowed later in the half as City made two substitutions to add to the two made at the interval, and the game petered out as friendlies are wont to do.

So, seven days to go until the real thing begins. City’s low-key pre-season has seen three victories over non-league opposition, defeat against Premier League Sunderland and a win over the Scottish Cup holders – all of which we read precisely nothing in to. A long, arduous Championship campaign awaits, and City’s prospects remain tantalisingly impossible to divine. It can’t come around soon enough.

The Tigers suffered their first defeat in pre-season last night, going down 4-2 to Premier League outfit Sunderland on the south coast of Portugal.

With both clubs engaging in warm weather training on the Algarve, a friendly match was arranged and played at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira, with a late-evening kick-off as a concession to the blistering heat. Sunderland opened the scoring with Fraizer Campbell, though a (soft) penalty was awarded for a foul on Garcia. Craig Fagan made no mistake to make the scores level after 20 minutes.

However, Sunderland replied with two goals in ten minutes, both from ex-Tiger Campbell, and remarkably he notched his fourth on 34 minutes to settle the contest. Nigel Pearson had selected what could be regarded as his strongest XI in the first half, but made three changes at the interval and another four during the second half – a forty-five during which Nick Barmby grabbed a goal to make the final score 4-2.

City have just one friendly remaining before the season starts, at home to Scottish Cup holders Dundee United on Saturday 31st, before the real stuff begins a week later.

City edged to a narrow friendly victory over York yesterday, beating the Conference side 1-0 at Bootham Crescent.

The only goal of a tepid game came ten minutes from time, when Daniel Cousin headed home after an excellent free-kick from Peter Halmosi. One again there was no sign of Jimmy Bullard, but Nigel Pearson picked a fairly strong side in the first half. The usual raft of changes were made in the second half, which were not exactly conducive to an entertaining spectacle.

City looked the stronger side throughout, as one may expect given the chasm in quality, and even though the winning goal took its time arriving the Tigers always looked like pinching one. With the friendlies at Huddersfield and Rotherham being cancelled, apparently at City’s behest, there are now just two more practice matches before the season begins.

North Ferriby is always a pleasing pre-season tradition: a quick jaunt on the train, pea chips & peas for less than the cost of a pint at the Circle, a friendly welcome in the bar and the sense the Tigers are giving something back to another club in the area.

One thing not being given back was the Billy Bly Memorial Trophy however – City coasted to a 6-0 win at Church Road this evening, with goals from Zayatte and Cullen putting Nigel Pearson’s men 2-0 at half-time and Cousin, Atkinson (from a saved Ghilas penalty), Solano (a delightful free-kick) and Emerton completing a one-sided friendly. Rarely has this annual fixture had such a convincing outcome, and while the usual caveat about practice matches against non-league opposition must apply, the Tigers looked impressive going forward.

Next up is a trip to York on Saturday. Until recently this was a fairly regular league fixture, with City and the Minsterman spending five seasons in the same division from 1999 to 2004. Fortunes have diverged sharply since 2003/4 – York finished bottom and tumbled into the Conference abyss from which they’re yet to escape, while Peter Taylor guided City to the first of our series of promotions. Kick-off at Bootham Crescent is at 3pm, it’s a tenner to get in – well, there are worse places to spend a summer’s day…

Clad in the shiny new white away kit, a youthful City side opened the pre-season fixtures with a 2-1 at Winterton Rangers last night.

The Tigers led 2-0 at half-time with goals from Danny Emerton and Gavan Holohan, though the Northern Counties East side pulled a goal back after the break. French trialist Remi Fournier was included in the side, as were Atkinson, Cooper, Cairney, Cullen and Featherstone. The remainder of the City XI consisted of members of the Juniors. As usual in the early stages of pre-season, City made a clutch of subsitutions, mainly around the hour mark – a total of seven changes being made in total.

City’s next friendly is at North Ferriby United for the annual Billy Bly trophy tomorrow night, where Nigel Pearson is expected to field a more experienced side.