Bath City (1)2 Slough Town (0)0

Bath City secured a hard-earned victory over Slough Town at Twerton Park by virtue of a goal in each half from two Bristol City loanees, Freddie Hinds and James Morton. Whilst this was a tough and competitive encounter there were very few bad challenges, a fact that was not reflected by abundance of yellow cards brandished by the over-zealous and bewilderingly erratic ‘man in the middle’, Mr. Alex Blake.

Playing towards the Bristol End, City started brightly and Hinds had a good chance to put the hosts ahead in the 5th minute. He cut inside from the left and found himself with just goalkeeper Jack Turner to beat, but he sliced his shot wide of the far post from a tight angle.

Thereafter, Slough began to come more into the game and, for a period, dominated possession. In the 10th minute, Matthew Lench flicked the ball on to Manny Williams who had a clear sight of goal inside the box, but he succeeded only in hitting the outside of Ryan Clarke’s post. Two minutes later, Louie Soares’ shot from the edge of the area was deflected wide for a corner by home skipper Anthony Straker.

The Romans responded with a 16th minute corner from Adam Mann that was met by a firm header by Joe Romanski. The defender was unfortunate to see his effort strike the top of the crossbar with the stretching Turner beaten.

The hosts had another escape after 19 minutes when a lofted ball into their box fell to the unmarked Williams in front of goal, but he was foiled by Clarke’s diving intervention at the expense of a corner. Soares then tried his luck with an angled shot from 20 yards that was directed well wide of Clarke’s far post.

City were gradually gaining control of the midfield areas, and they took the lead on 28 minutes when Hinds latched on to a through ball. The striker showed an impressive turn of pace as he raced goalwards, before skilfully rounding Turner and calmly rolling the ball into the unguarded net.

The Somerset side were now in the ascendancy and looked to turn the screw on their visibly shaken opponents. They should have had the opportunity to increase their advantage in the 33rd minute, when the lively Hinds controlled the ball in the box before turning his man. The earlier goalscorer was wrestled to the ground by a Slough defender but, incredibly, Mr. Blake waved away the appeals for a home penalty.

With five minutes left on the clock before half time, Mann delivered a low cross from the left that was diverted towards his own goal by centre back Mark Nisbet. However, Turner saved his teammate’s blushes by making a smart save with his feet to avert the danger.

The home side came out of the blocks quickly following the break, and they had a golden chance to add to their goal tally on 47 minutes. Ross Stearn drove in a low cross from the right from which Hinds appeared certain to score, before he was impeded from behind by a defender in front of goal. Mr. Blake pointed to the spot and added to his growing collection of cautions. In the event, Straker’s penalty was well saved by Turner, who dived successfully to his left.

Hinds again found space inside the area in the 54th minute, but fired wide of the near post and, on the hour mark, the same player volleyed wide of the target from 20 yards.

Andy Watkins replaced the impressive Sean Rigg on 65 minutes and, five minutes later, Adam Mann made way for Ryan Brunt. Brunt’s first action almost resulted in a goal when his cross from the right picked out Hinds inside the 6 yard box, only for the striker to be denied by a breath-taking point blank save by Turner on his goal-line.

Slough were having their full share of possession, but were struggling to make any impression on the City defensive line which was standing firm, with Clarke also proving to be commanding in the air. Billy Clifford came close for the visitors with a curling effort from distance that narrowly cleared the angle of post and crossbar.

With 15 minutes remaining, Stearn and Brunt exchanged passes on the edge of the Town area, before the former fired wastefully over the bar from 15 yards out. Stearn was then replaced by Tom Smith to provide some fresh legs for the final 10 minutes.

Slough continued to push forward in search of an equaliser but it was City who looked the more likely to add to the score-line, and Brunt’s rising drive from 20 yards just cleared Turner’s crossbar.

Penalty appeals from the visitors for an alleged infringement inside the box in the 88th minute were brushed aside by the referee, and the hosts finally made the game safe in the first minute of added time. Hinds broke away into the Slough half and turned Lee Togwell inside out, before slipping the ball into the path of Morton out on the left. The midfielder took the ball in his stride and clipped his shot over Turner, finding the far corner of the net with a sublime finish.

This was a deserved three points for Jerry Gill’s men and, in the end, the margin of victory could have been far greater. Slough played their full part in proceedings but, despite their competitiveness in midfield they lacked punch up front, and Clarke was rarely troubled between the home sticks. The missed chances meant that there was always the danger that the Berkshire outfit would snatch an unlikely point but, in the end, the outcome was defined by two goals of real quality.

Bath City: Ryan Clarke, Anthony Straker, Jack Batten, Robbie Cundy, Joe Romanski, Sean Rigg (Andy Watkins 65), James Morton, Joe Raynes, Adam Mann (Ryan Brunt 70), Ross Stearn (Tom Smith 80), Freddie Hinds. Subs not used; Frankie Artus, Harvey Wiles-Richards.

Slough Town: Jack Turner, Sean Fraser, George Wells, Sam Togwell, Mark Nisbet, Lee Togwell, Louie Soares, Billy Clifford, Manny Williams, Matthew Lench, Warren Harris. Subs; Josh Jackman, Guy Hollis, Simon Dunn, Tommy Wood, Trent Phillips.

Referee: Mr. Alex Blake

Att: 866

Good report as always. Could and should have had more goals but never mind, at least the second went our way when that game has ended 1-1 so many times.

Agreed that the referee was hopeless, and not sure how the defender only got a yellow for the penalty - surely pulling someone down as they’re about to head it in is a red?

Ashley wrote:
Agreed that the referee was hopeless, and not sure how the defender only got a yellow for the penalty - surely pulling someone down as they’re about to head it in is a red?

I think many of us were wondering that. Having taken a look at the rules, they state :-

"Players committing accidental fouls that deny a goalscoring chance will now be cautioned.

But deliberate fouls will still incur a red card.

Those include holding, pulling or pushing, not playing the ball, serious foul play, violent conduct or deliberate handball in order to deny a goalscoring opportunity."

Their player was holding, pulling and not playing the ball all at the same time! Again we seem to have encountered a referee fixated on minor misdemeanors while viewing important incidents with an indulgent eye.

That's a pretty good crowd too. Well done to those who have worked to boost attendances this season.

Corstonian wrote:

Ashley wrote:
Agreed that the referee was hopeless, and not sure how the defender only got a yellow for the penalty - surely pulling someone down as they’re about to head it in is a red?

Their player was holding, pulling and not playing the ball all at the same time! Again we seem to have encountered a referee fixated on minor misdemeanors while viewing important incidents with an indulgent eye.

Dissent appeared to be his main bugbear. Given the random nature of his decisions I bet he dishes out a lot of cards for dissent.