A competitive pre-season outing for Welwyn Garden City ended in defeat as Royston Town brought all of their Southern League Premier Division experience to bear.
The visiting Crows were just too sharp for the youthful looking WGC side, whose back-line had an average age of 20, and they eased to a 4-0 win.
WGC had experienced keeper Charlie Crowley (thigh strain) and forward Cyrus Babaie (knee) still injured while new midfield signing Gil Barunda Fal was on holiday.
They gave outings to teenage keeper Olly Bounsall, ex-Luton Town academy prospect Eddie Corbit and new signing Karl Kayembe among established young squad players Tamas Amgbaduba, Ryan Doherty, Callum Taylor, Lewis Franklin and Jaedon Phillips.
The only experience in the side came from new striker Josh Hutchinson, who was WGC’s most dangerous performer, and 33-year-old Brett O’Connor, back at the club after five years away.
Royston were ahead in three minutes, their much prized forward Matt Bateman finishing from close in, and then hit the post with Welwyn skipper Ryan Doherty making a vital block from the rebound.
In between Hutchinson had fired just past a post after cleverly making space to shoot but Royston doubled their lead just before the half-hour, Bateman again on target, this time with an excellent diving header from a right-wing cross.
WGC finished the half strongly though and in one of their best moves of the game, great work by Phillips found the overlapping Amgbaduba.
His high cross was hooked back by Archie Sayer for Hutchinson to again just drive inches past a post.
Hutchinson put another effort wide and then a fine ball from Corbit sent Sayer through, but the Royston keeper pulled off a good save.
WGC replaced O’Connor and Corbit after the break with ex-Crow Makai Murray and Max Jessop, the players' player winner at Colney Heath last season, coming on.
Jessop made an instant impact with a ball that put in Sayer but the ex-Arlesey man fired his second chance of the game across the face of goal.
Amgbaduba shot just wide of goal, when a chance in the box fell to the full-back, and Hutchinson rounded off a period of sustained WGC pressure, striking a fierce effort against the Royston cross-bar, Phillips being unable to turn in the rebound.
But Royston gradually began to take back control, as WGC made a trio of changes just past the hour, Chayce Grant, signed from Berkhamsted, fit-again Will Murphy and trialist striker Alan Fleming, replacing Hutchinson, Phillips and Sayer.
The Crows bagged a third, when young keeper Bounsall made a couple of very brave blocks to keep out a chance, before Royston scrambled it home at the third attempt.
A fourth for the visitors five minutes from the end was hard on WGC and just added insult to injury.
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