EXETER City christened their brand new pitch with a vintage 3-1 win over npower Championship side Bristol City last night.

Ryan Harley and Daniel Nardiello summoned up moments of genuine quality in each half to settle the outcome at a busy St James's Park.

While Harley may have kept the Grecians in League One with a full-blooded volley last season, his second goal of last night's pre-season friendly was exquisite in its deftness.

And where the ginger playmaker was delicate, Nardiello showed why City boss Paul Tisdale was so keen to bring him to Devon with a direct run and deadly finish in the second half.

The first 20 minutes belonged to the away side as they seemed the more comfortable on the new surface. And as the half progressed Grecians groundsman Clive Pring must have been feeling more and more contented by the performance of the club's new £150,000 pitch.

The turf remained firm and green as the game wore on, even if the ball stood up a bit on the bounce, or ran a little slowly into the corners.

A bit of moisture before the season begins and it should be near enough perfect for kick-off on August 7.

City got into their stride gradually and the impressive Nardiello provided the opportunity for the breakthrough when he latched onto Scott Golbourne's pass and snaked between two defenders before being bundled over by Jamal Campbell-Ryce on 33 minutes.

Harley confidently dispatched the penalty.

The visitors were millimetres away from replying inside five minutes though as the brutish John Akinde, often Bristol City's most dangerous player, seized onto a loose ball on the edge of the Grecians' box only to see his shot strike the inside of the post and run away to safety.

City quickly took advantage of the away team's profligacy.

Their play in the middle was quick and incisive with James Dunne and David Noble pulling the strings.

And no one looked sharper than Nardiello, who used his pace to constantly menace the Robins' defence.

He was close to opening his account on 43 minutes when he gambled on Steve Tully's hopeful through-ball slowing up on the surface and forced Robins keeper Stephen Henderson to slam his clearance straight at the striker.

But to Nardiello's dismay, his effort was then palmed away by the back-pedalling goalkeeper.

And on the stroke of half-time Jake Thomson skinned Jamie McAllister down the right before crossing for Harley who, after watching the ball drop, showed supreme composure to stroke the ball home with his left foot.

The away side came out with a point to prove in the second half and, after a raft of substitutions, looked determined to find a way back into the game.

First left-back Tom Williams went close with a looping long-range volley which bounced off the outside of the post, before David Clarkson's thunderbolt cannoned off the bar.

Then Akinde beat the offside trap to place Clarkson's weighted pass past Paul Jones, with the Grecians' backline caught square.

But the reply was instantaneous as Nardiello showed all his quality and goalscoring instinct as he picked up a pass from Thomson before gliding through the Robins' defence and lashing past a helpless Henderson.

The visitors pressed for a consolation as the stopwatch ran down, with Marlon Jackson, Albert Adomah and Charlie Taylor all going close.

But it was the hosts who held firm, with substitute James Norwood seeing a late effort hit the post as City's encouraging display, punctuated by some smooth, passing football, continued to the final whistle.

And with the surface likely to get slicker as City get into their stride this season, the new pitch could be their most important investment for years.

Exeter City: Paul Jones, Tully, Billy Jones, Edwards, Thomson (Norwood 79), Dunne (Shepherd 72), Harley (Cozic 64), Noble (Sercombe 64), Logan (Stewart 23 (O'Flynn 64), Nardiello (Cureton 64), Golbourne (Heath 79)

Bristol City: Henderson, McAllister, Fontaine, Elliott (Adomah 46), Johnson, Clarkson (Jackson 64), Skuse (Edwards 46), Gavin Williams, Akinde (Taylor 64), Nyatanga (Tom Williams 46), Campbell-Ryce (Cisse 46)