Bath City (1)1 Truro City (0)1

Bath City wasted the opportunity to keep the pressure on their fellow play-off hopefuls as they were punished by Truro City for not making the most of their goal-scoring chances.  A goal eleven minutes from time by former ‘Roman’ Tyler Harvey cancelled out Anthony Straker’s early penalty strike to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.

A bumper Family Day crowd of 1,408 saw Bath start proceedings brightly and they took the lead in the 3rd minute.  Adam Mann fed the ball  through to Freddie Hinds who burst into the penalty box before being hauled down by Nick Grimes.  The referee, Mr. Scott Jackson, pointed to the spot for a soft looking penalty, but home skipper Straker took full advantage by sending keeper Harvey Rivers the wrong way from 12 yards, neatly finding the bottom corner of the net.

The hosts continued to enjoy the upper hand and came close to increasing their advantage on 7 minutes.  Mann delivered a free kick from the right which was headed back across goal by Sean Rigg, only for the ball to be cleared off the goal-line by a defender.  Ten minutes later, James Morton’s side-footed effort from 18 yards was just wide of the target.

Truro’s first shot on goal came in the 20th minute, but Harvey’s mishit attempt from the edge of the area was easily collected by Ryan Clarke in the home goal.  However, it was The Romans who remained the more dangerous going forward, and Mann’s wicked cross from the left was taken off Hinds’ toes by a defender at the expense of a corner.  

The visitors began to secure a foothold in midfield and were now sharing the balance of possession.  Indeed, they came close to restoring parity on 34 minutes when Nial Thompson’s cross from the right eventually fell to Alex Battle inside the box, whose goalbound shot was cleared off the line by Andy Watkins.

Hinds had another shot well saved low down by Rivers and, five minutes before the break, the keeper made a fine blocking save to deny Mann who had burst into the area unopposed.

Ryan Brunt replaced Watkins ahead of the restart as Jerry Gill looked to add a more robust challenge upfront.  Riggs cross from the left in the 48th minute picked out the substitute at the far post, but Rivers was able to gather the second of his headers.

Hinds was desperately unlucky not to score on 50 minutes when he raced goalwards before slipping the ball past the advancing Rivers, only for the ball to hit the base of the far post.  Rigg then saw his ‘shot on the turn’ deflected by Ben Harding before the wrong-footed Rivers did well to push the ball round the near post.  Morton also tried his luck from distance, but the ball flew straight into Rivers’ midriff.

The White Tigers were struggling to stay in the game at this stage, and their only offering up front was a 53rd minute half volley from Alex Battle that drifted high over Clarke’s crossbar and into the Bristol End terracing.

Brunt glanced a header wide from a Mann corner on the hour mark, but Truro responded with a chance of their own.  Thompson, who had been causing problems down the right flank all game, sent a cross into the danger area that found Harvey, but the striker’s header was repelled by an excellent Jack Batten block at the far post.

Ross Stearn came on for the ailing Mann on 64 minutes, but the visitors were gradually finding some forward momentum.  Jason Banton’s curling free kick from the right in the 74th minute narrowly eluded a number of his teammates who were lurking at the far post and, at the other end, Stearn broke through a couple of challenges before firing a shot wide of the post from outside the box.

Truro substitute Steve Ziboth sent in a low cross from the left that took a deflection off Batten, forcing Clarke into a save at the foot of his near post.  Hinds then had an outstanding chance to put the game beyond the away side when a Stearn pass put him through on goal.  The forward steadied himself before clipping the ball over the advancing Rivers but, alas, also wide of the goal.

The hosts were made to pay with 11 minutes remaining on the clock following Joe Raynes being dispossessed inside his own half and, when the ball reached Harvey, he stabbed his shot past Clarke, finding the far corner of the net from a tight angle.

Truro were now finishing the game the stronger of the two sides and were putting the home defence under increasing pressure.  However, Rigg was very unfortunate when his dipping shot from almost 30 yards hit the top of the crossbar with Rivers well beaten.

The final action of the game saw Banton’s cross from the left pick out Ziboth inside the Bath 6-yard box, but the latter’s hurried first time shot was high over the bar, much to the relief of the home faithful.

This was a game that Bath should have won comfortably but, in the end, could have ended with nothing.  They played some good football at times and created enough openings to have made Truro’s late rally purely academic.  Credit must be given to the away side for their dogged defending and for their refusal to capitulate, but it is fair to say that the match’s defining factor was the hosts’ profligacy in front of goal.

Bath City:  Ryan Clarke, Anthony Straker, Jack Batten, Robbie Cundy, Joe Romanski, James Morton, Sean Rigg, Joe Raynes, Andy Watkins (Ryan Brunt HT), Adam Mann (Ross Stearn 64), Freddie Hinds.  Subs not used; Dan Ball, Tom Smith, Harvey Wiles-Richards.

Truro City:  Harvey Rivers, Nial Thompson, Connor Riley-Lowe, Nick Grimes, Jamie Richards, Ben Harding, Dan Rooney, Ben Rowthorn, Alex Battle, Tyler Harvey, Jared Lewington.  Subs;  Jason Banton,  Steve Ziboth, River Allen, Aaron Bentley, Michael Meaker.

Referee:  Mr. Scott Jackson

Attendance:  1,408