Bristol Rovers were in two places at once on Tuesday evening, with differing fortunes for Joey Barton's divided squad at Bath City and Chippenham Town.
The Gas decided to split into two teams to maximise the available playing time for their players as the new season nears, and it was a worthwhile exercise in that regard with the majority of players getting 90 minutes under their belt.
The team that travelled to Chippenham's Hardenhuish Park were in good form, claiming a 4-1 win thanks to braces from new signing John Marquis and the highly impressive Harvey Saunders, but the Gas were beaten at Twerton Park.
Ryan Loft had put Rovers ahead with a clinical finish, but the tide turned against them with Alex Fletcher netting twice before half time. A soft penalty was coolly converted by Cody Cooke to increase the deficit, and although they huffed and puffed Rovers could not force a way back into the game and were beaten 3-1.
The disappointment for Barton was clear, but it will quickly expire with bigger and much more important games on the horizon; the new League One season is little more than two weeks away.
With the Gas playing in two counties at once, there is plenty to fill Gasheads in on and here are some of the moments you may have missed...
Reunions aplenty
"Azzaaaa," bellowed Bath boss Jerry Gill when he crossed paths with Aaron Collins on the pitch a couple of hours before kick-off at Twerton. The pair had worked together at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who Collins joined as an 18-year-old in 2016, and they shared a warm embrace and a long chat on Tuesday
Encouraging performances for hometown club Newport County earned Collins a move to Molineux to be part of the under-21 squad. At the same time, Gill was head coach of Wolves' under-18s side before leaving in 2017 and taking charge of the Romans.
Gill was also reunited with Rovers' first-team coach Andy Mangan, and the old pals chewed the fat for several minutes.
Gill finished his playing career with a stint on loan at Forest Green Rovers in 2008/09, and at that time Mangan was a star player for FGR. He scored 26 goals in 41 Conference appearances that season, while Gill played 20 times at the back in a season that included a run to the FA Cup third round.
Collins wasn't done chatting, either. He caught up with Kieran Parselle, Bath's captain. The pair were together at Newport County as teenagers.
Barton gets hands-on
With his support staff split just like his squad, Barton had to play an increased hands-on role at Twerton Park on Tuesday. Rarely will the manager have more than a watching brief in the warm-up, but on this occasion, he was needed to prepare his players for kick-off.
Kevin Bond usually takes charge of the defensive element of the pre-match preparation, taking the back four aside to complete a series of drills while the forward-thinking players take part in a shooting drill.
But with Bond taking charge over at Chippenham, his duties were fulfilled by the manager, who was throwing balls for James Gibbons, Alfie Kilgour, James Connolly and Luca Hoole to head back before hooking it behind the defensive line to chase.
As a result of the divided staff, nutritionist James Aitken was also needed beyond the role of keeping the players nourished and hydrated. He became a ball boy for the evening, clocking up the yards as he chased them down and returning them to Barton to continue the drill.
Ex-rugby star in the crowd
This was not the first time the Gas have had little a connection to Bath Rugby in recent months, with Danny Cipriani – a pal of Barton – taking in the drama and delight of the final day of last season at the Mem.
This time around, it was former Bath and England star Matt Banahan who was watching from the stands. The giant winger made 251 appearances for the Blue, Black and Whites over a 12-year stay before a three-year stint with Gloucester.
The 35-year-old also scored 20 points in 16 England caps and he called time on his playing career last summer.
Banahan's career was associated with the other stadium in Bath – The Rec – but it was Twerton Park where he found himself on Tuesday and he must've been pleased to see his adopted hometown team get a win.
A familiar face
No, not that one. Eyes may have been on Chris Lines on Tuesday, and he proved he can still cut it at a high level with a smooth performance in the heart of midfield, but there was another former Gas player in the Romans' starting lineup.
Danny Greenslade came through Rovers' academy and was around the first-team group for a few years before being released in 2017.
The left-back did not make a competitive appearance for the Gas, but the 28-year-old has forged a decent career for himself in non-league over the years. He joined Weston-super-Mare after leaving the Mem and was impressive at the Woodspring Stadium.
Stints with Hereford and Chippenham followed before joining Bath this summer. It is the second time he has been with the Romans after a loan spell in 2016.
Greenslade was solid on the left side of Bath's backline and he provided the assist for their second goal, catching Rovers' defence out with a ball over the top and Fletcher finished the chance impressively.
Marquis shares the knowledge
Let's be clear, John Marquis has been brought to Bristol Rovers to score goals. By his own admission, he wasn't properly up to match speed on Tuesday at Chippenham Town but even functioning on 80 per cent capability (perhaps lower), he still scored twice inside the first half.
They were, of course, regulation tap-ins following two penetrative runs by Harvey Saunders but you still have to be in the positions to score them and it's a reasonable shout to suggest that the way Rovers play and what Barton wants from his new No9, Marquis is unlikely to bag too many screamers this season. He will be the Gas' new fox in the box.
At 30, he's not quite at full veteran status but knows his way around the league and opposition defences at this level. In many ways his signing is a slight departure by the Rovers manager who's tended to either recruit young talents with considerable room for coaching, or established older figures to help manage the dressing room as much as have an impact on the field.
Marquis kind of sits in the middle of those two concepts, admittedly leaning towards the latter part, and there was one sign at Hardenhuish Park that while it won't be the reason why he was signed - like Glenn Whelan, Paul Coutts and Mark Hughes before him in that sort of age range - he does have mentoring skills in his locker.
As the Gas team left the field following their 4-1 win. Marquis, dressed in training shirt and tracksuit bottoms after his half-time removal was walking off with his arm around young midfielder Jerry Lawrence who looked a little frustrated about something.
Marquis spoke with the teenager and then began gesticulating calmly, like a coach, presumably offering potential passing options for the academy player, while also reassuring him there was nothing to worry about.
A small and largely trivial detail, but also potentially a revealing one that maybe Marquis' signing is, in fact, about more than just goals.
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