You can very much count on the last friendly to be a low-scoring match. This time last year, Altrincham was goalless; yesterday, City defeated Oldham 1-0.
Players become inherently defensive because they worry that even the smallest bump or ache would ruin their plans for the start of the real thing the following week.
Tommy Leigh struggled off early on in City's game, but thankfully the post-match diagnosis was not a major worry.
However, it can result in a sterile match between two teams that are unwilling to take many chances.
Leigh hobbling off and Will Swan putting a fantastic chance over the crossbar from Brad Halliday's cross were the only highlights of the first half.
After the interval, City displayed greater vigour and determination, and they were rewarded with the lone goal at 64 minutes.
Jack Stevens, a winger for Oldham, went down holding his head in the City box after a penalty shout was waved away.
Stephen Humphrys, a lifetime Oldham native and boyhood fan, cut in from the right to smash home an angled strike that keeper Mat Hudson could only assist into the net as play went to the opposite end.
After Manny Monthe's downward header was saved for the cameras by Sam Walker, Josh Neufville stretched Hudson a little more athletically to keep City from scoring a second.
But, like in the final dress rehearsal, one was always going to be sufficient.
Now that the phoney war is over, what is Alexander's current combat strategy? Before a ball was kicked at Boundary Park, the back three for the match against Wycombe had essentially picked itself.
The new trio of Curtis Tilt, Joe Wright, and Matt Pennington were rubberstamped on the team sheet since Neill Byrne and Ciaran Kelly were injured, and Aden Baldwin was scheduled to serve the second of his two-game suspension for the head loss at Doncaster.
When Wright stayed down following an aerial clash, it was a moment to hold your breath. A blow to the mouth, however, was not going to be a long-term issue.
To allow Tilt to rest on the bench until the final twenty-five minutes, Alexander used Baldwin on the left side.
Lewis Richards made his preseason debut as a centre half rather than a wing-back, and Tilt was then played centrally in place of Wright.
The warm-up program's four clean sheets out of five were achieved thanks to the different defensive connotations.
Davor Brajkovic's incredible free kick for Austrians SK Vorwärts Steyr was the lone goal City let up in the friendlies. An hour passed before Oldham managed to have a shot on target, and it was a scuff from Mike Fondop that found its way to Walker.
You could understand why the home team had only scored once in their last four friendlies after being promoted back to the EFL just eight weeks prior. Manager Micky Mellon called their offensive efforts "plodding."
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