MAX Cornhill was pleased to complete 90 minutes and grab a brace of goals as Bowers & Pitsea ran riot against Concord Rangers.
The Isthmian Premier League new-boys recorded a 5-0 victory over Danny Scopes’ National League South outfit.
And Cornhill was overjoyed to continue his preparations ahead of the upcoming campaign.
The midfielder said: “It was a good workout and it felt good to get 90 minutes.
“It was nice to get a couple of goals as well and it was a good performance considering we were missing a couple of players.
“Everyone pulled together and gave their all.
“I got a bit tired in the last 10 minutes but that was always going to happen.
“I played for 65 minutes against Colchester, which pushed us to the limit against a full-time team.
“It was important to get the minutes in and make those runs like I would in a competitive game.
“It was tiring but I need to get the minutes on the pitch so that I am prepared for the new season.”
James Thomas, David Knight and Lewis Clark also got their names on the scoresheet at the Len Salmon Stadium as the new-look Beach Boys were put to the sword.
Concord included Chris Haigh and Kreshnic Krasniqi in their starting line-up and, having lost to the duo in both clashes with Heybridge Swifts last term, Cornhill admitted the encounter did not feel like a friendly.
Cornhill added: “It was an intense game and I don’t think it helped that a lot of their players were at Heybridge last season.
“There was a bit of rivalry after that because they beat us twice last season.
“But it’s good when friendlies are intense because that’s what it will be like in a real game situation.
“Tackles were being made but the game was played in good spirits. It was a tough game.”
Bowers boss Rob Small confirmed players were required to complete 90 minutes due to some injury problems.
“Lewis Manor pulled out after picking up a little niggle in training on Saturday,” said Small.
“Quentin Monville pulled out after picking up a niggle in the warm-up and we already had Jamie Dicks, Martyn Stokes and Tom Hine away.”
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