Sat 26th Jul
Kick-off15:00

PLY Argyle

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BRC Bristol City

Match Preview

The Game   ​
Argyle v Bristol City. Home Park. Saturday, 26 July. 3pm. Pre-Season Friendly.

The Opposition  
Bristol City enjoyed their best Sky Bet Championship season since the 2007/08 season, last time out. 

Led by Liam Manning, the Robins finished 6th in the division, losing out to Sheffield United in the play-offs. Manning has since departed, joining Norwich City, with City retaining high hopes under new Head Coach Gerhard Struber.

Struber's side began their pre-season preparations with two 60-minute matches against Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, which ended 4-0 to the Cherries, and 2-2. The Robins followed this up with a 1-0 win over League Two outfit Newport County.

Bristol City face Cheltenham Town the night before our meeting, meaning we are likely to see their squad split between the two fixtures.

The Gaffer  
Having retired from professional football in 2008, Gerhard Struber took on his first coaching role six years later, in the Red Bull Salzburg academy.

He became the manager of Austrian side Wolfsberger AC in 2019, guiding them to 3rd in the Austrian Bundesliga, before leaving to join Barnsley in the Championship, leading the Yorkshire side to safety.

Gerhard Streber

New York called for Struber next, joining MLS side NY Red Bulls. After two consecutive seasons in the play-offs, Struber departed in May 2025. A brief spell in charge of the men's first-team at Red Bull Salzburg followed, before 11 months with 1. FC Koln.

New Faces
Adam Randell will likely be in the Bristol City squad for Saturday's game, returning to Home Park for the first time since leaving Argyle this summer. The Argyle Academy graduate made 173 appearances in Greens, having made his debut in November 2018.

The Robins moved to bring in striker Emil Riis from Preston North End, who has 41 Championship goals to his name, and goalkeeper Joe Lumley from Southampton.

Yu Hirakawa

Gerhard Struber's side also completed the permanent transfer of Yu Hirakawa (above) from Japanese side Machida Zelvia, after an impressive loan stint last season.

Tickets
Tickets are still available for this match, either on the day or online here.

Season Tickets can be collected from the Home Park Ticket Office on Saturday - but NOT at the Barnsley match next weekend.

Argyle TV  
Saturday's match will be streamed worldwide on Argyle TV. Subscribers can watch the live coverage for free as part of their plan, while non-subscribers can buy a pass for £2.50.

Click here to buy a match pass for the game.

Argyle v Bristol City

Argyle’s final pre-season friendly ended in defeat to Bristol City, as the Robins won 2-0, in front of nearly 10,000 at Home Park. 

Both goals were scored by Danish forward Emil Riis, who bagged two before the half-time break. 

Riis was the first to draw any sort of blood in the game, firing a shot toward Luca Ashby-Hammond’s near post that the Argyle goalkeeper did well to turn round the post. 

After City’s initial bright start, Argyle came into the game increasingly as the game reached the quarter stage, with Bali Mumba and Xavier Amaechi getting involved. It was from a foul on the former that the latter sent in a free-kick which Kornel Szucs met, but had his header deflected wide. Bradley Ibrahim also sent in a teasing cross that none of his team-mates could quite reach. 

Argyle also fashioned a half-chance; well, Owen Oseni practically did so on his own, weaving around defenders in the left channel, but eventually shooting into the side-netting. 

City, though, took the lead through Riis, with a lot of the hard work being done by Anis Mehmeti. The Albania international drove at the heart of Argyle, drawing several defenders, before teeing up Riis, who thundered home. 

Riis got his, and City’s, second just under ten minutes before the break. This time the visitors attacked down the left and crossed low, with Riis making contact that was not perfectly clean, but enough to force the ball home. 

City had certainly shown their Championship class during the first period, making life difficult for Argyle, but their two-goal interval advantage felt a little harsh on the Pilgrims. 

The second period produced precious few chances, but plenty of changes. A game which in the first half had plenty of snap, and did not resemble a typical pre-season affair, now strayed into that territory, with minutes in the legs and preparation for next weekend’s season opener the obvious focus. 

Three of Argyle’s many subs combined for the Greens’ best chance, with 15 minutes to play. Ex-Robin Jamie Paterson played a nice ball out to Freddie Issaka on the right and, after winning a tussle, the young Argyle winger crossed to his fellow Academy graduate Joe Hatch. Hatch’s header was pretty good, but he was denied a chance to score at the Babcock Devonport End by a superb save by City keeper Lewis Thomas. 

At the other end, City broke, and Ashby-Hammond saved – and held – smartly from a low effort by Mehmeti, and Scott Twine hit the bar with a direct free-kick attempt, before Sinclair Armstrong tested Ashby-Hammond one final time, with Argyle’s newest recruit making another strong save. 

Pre-season over – the countdown is on. 

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