City's pre-season preparations continued on Saturday as local rivals Montrose provided the opposition at Glebe Park.

Montrose have greatly strengthened during the summer, raiding rivals Arbroath for Mark Peat, Ian Dobbins and former City winger Jay Stein. Also arriving at the Links Park club was experienced defender Kevin McGowne, formerly of Kilmarnock and St Mirren.

City gaffer Michael O'Neill was happy with the performance against Hibernian last Tuesday and there weren't many faults again on Saturday, with all of the new boys putting in a good performance.

O'Neill handed a start to back-up keeper Chris McLuskey who joined the club a couple of weeks ago, and if his performance is anything to go by, then Nelson will have to be on his toes this season if he is to keep the number one jersey.

Also making his debut was Adam Nelson, who along with Martin Johnston, joined the club from Elgin City during the summer. Adam was one of the best players on the park and his vision and range of passing is sure to be an asset for City this campaign.

Trialist Neil Janczyk, who played against Hibs, was given another chance to impress the manager, who still has room in the budget for possibly two more players before the season starts.

The friendly at Glebe Park turned out to be a fairly scrappy affair, with neither side really having any long spells of possession.

It was the visitors who conjured up the first chance of the game when forward Andy Rodgers got past David White and with only McLuskey to beat, the young keeper pulled off a fine stop to deny the former Dumbarton man.

However, City will have felt aggrieved not to have been ahead at the break. Barry Callaghan's cross from the right found an unmarked Iain Russell in the box, and the striker guided the ball superbly into the net, but the goal was chalked off for offside.

Shortly after, City won a corner on the left. The ball was swung in by Charlie King and with the Montrose defence is disarray, the ball arrived at the head of Martin Johnston, but from just a few yards out, his downwards header bounced agonisingly over the bar.

Johnston continued to try and make amends for his earlier miss and he came close to connecting with a Barry Callaghan cross from the right hand side.

Johnston then had the ball in the net 5 minutes before the break when he lobbed the ball over Stuart McKenzie but the linesman had his flag up for offside.

As the first half drew to a close, Barry Callaghan nearly opened the scoring with a free kick which shaved the top of the bar from 20 yards out.

Unfortunately for City, Iain Russell picked up a knock just before the break and had to be replaced by Chris Geddes.

Michael O'Neill made two changes at the break, with Richard Walker and Kevin Byers replacing David Murie and trialist Neil Janczyk respectively. Five minutes later young centre half Chris Hughes came on for the impressive Barry Callaghan.

The second half was, like the first, a scrappy affair but City eventually broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. Goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie's poor clearance went straight to the feet on Martin Johnston and the big striker hit the ball on the half volley from 40 yards out and the ball flew straight into the top corner. Not a bad way to open your account for the club and it more than made up for some of the guilt edged chances he had spurned beforehand.

Goalscorer Johnston was replaced by trialist Calum Smith, who featured against Hibs last Tuesday, 5 minutes later.

At the other end, Chris McLuskey once again had to be alert to deny Andy Rodgers after the striker had cleverly lost his marker.

With just six minutes to go, City wrapped up the win when Chris Geddes beat his man before slotting the ball past Stuart McKenzie and into the bottom corner.

Overall, another good work-out for City and a confidence boosting win. Next up is Scottish Cup finalists Dunfermline at Glebe Park tomorrow night (Tuesday). The game kicks off at 7:45pm and the admission prices are £4 for concession and £8 for adults. Those who are yet to purchase a season ticket can do so at this game or at any of the remaining friendly matches. Alternatively, you can buy your season ticket at the Brechin Advertiser office in Swan Street.

After the game, City manager Michael O'Neill said: "We had a lot of positives to take out of the game, but there was a lot of rustiness too. It can be quite difficult getting the squad together at this time and some of the guys are slightly behind in terms of fitness.

"It was good for Martin to get off the mark and it was a stunning strike. But for some players like John Ward and Adam Nelson it was an early game, and they were slightly tired and not so sharp.

"We currently have 18 signed players. They are all capable and competition for places will be tight, but I will know my best 11 by the start of the season."

Montrose gaffer Jim Weir said: "We played well in the first half and had enough chances to be in front. Then Johnston scored. It was a poor mistake by a young keeper. Then they got the goal late on.

"But they had strength in numbers, we were showing tiredness. We hope to have a couple of new faces by next weekend, because we need to strengthen the squad.

Brechin:- McLuskey, Murie (R Walker 46), S Callaghan, Ward, White, Nelson, B Callaghan (Hughes 50), Trialist Janczyk (Byers 46), Johnston (Trialist Smith 58), Russell (Geddes 44), King. Unused subs:- Nelson, Fusco.

Montrose:- McKenzie, Cumming (Stewart 69), McLeod, McGowne (Thomson 74), Stephen, Maitland (Reid 78), Gibson, Thompson, Rodgers, Baird, Stein. Unused sub:- Peat.

Crowd: 244

Referee: C. Mackay