Bath City (0)1 Woking (1)1

Bath City came back from a goal down to earn a valuable point against second placed Woking in another highly competitive match at Twerton Park. Similar to their last home outing against Wealdstone two weeks ago, Jerry Gill’s side showed great strength of character and determination to find an equaliser against tough, uncompromising opponents.

An attendance of 1,710, including 269 from Surrey, created a lively atmosphere and the players of both sides responded by producing a whole-hearted encounter. The visitors had the better of the very early exchanges but the contrast in style was quickly evident, with Woking employing a direct approach, whilst City were willing to build patiently from the back. The first opening came the way of the hosts in the 6th minute when Freddie Hinds found his way to the byline before slipping the ball past keeper Craig Ross and across the goal-line. A defender hacked clear, but the ball rebounded off the onrushing Joe Raynes and bounced narrowly wide of the goal.

Ross Stearn shot high and wide from inside the box on 8 minutes as City continued to press forward. Three minutes later, Hinds went to ground inside the Woking box under a defensive challenge, but the referee Mr. Wayne Cartmel waved away optimistic home penalty appeals.

It was somewhat against the run of play that The Cards took the lead on 18 minutes following a mishit clearance by Bath stopper Ryan Clarke. Kieran Cadogan picked up the loose ball on the right and crossed into the box, where Max Kretzschmar was on hand to fire unerringly into the corner of the net from 10 yards out.

The hosts were clearly rocked by this setback, and Woking sought to press home their advantage by putting the City defence under increased pressure. James Ferry had a sight of goal on 23 minutes, but his shot flashed across Clarke’s goal just eluding Jake Hyde’s sliding effort. However, in any event, the latter was flagged offside.

At the other end, Andy Watkins’ shot from point of the area in the 24th minutes was straight at Ross. Thereafter was a period of midfield stalemate with neither side gaining the upper hand, and it was not until six minutes before the break that the next goal attempt arrived, but Hinds shot from 25 yards was narrowly wide of Ross’s post.

City came close to restoring parity in the 43rd minute when James Morton’s dangerous free kick was met by a firm Tom Smith header, and Ross produced a brilliant reaction save to tip the ball over the crossbar.

On the stroke of half time a Woking corner from the right picked out Moussa Diarra inside the home 6-yard box, but the central defender wastefully headed wide of the far post.

City emerged after the break looking to pressure the visitors’ defence and Stearn’s low shot in the 47th minute was straight at Ross, who gathered comfortably. Whilst the hosts were generally having the greater share of possession, they were struggling to make any real impression on the Cards’ backline, and it was the away side who came close to adding to the scoreline on 56 minutes. A good move down the right ended with a cross from Armani Little that found Kretzschmar in front of goal, but his half volley was turned around the post by Clarke at full stretch. Following the resulting corner, Little clipped another cross into the box that the backpeddling Clarke finger-tipped on to the inside of the far post. The keeper recovered just in time to smother the loose ball on the goal-line, much to the relief of the home faithful.

Sol Pryce came on in place of Stearn on the hour mark and, three minutes later, Raynes struck a shot from 25 yards through a crowded area that was inadvertently deflected wide of the target by one of his teammates for a goal kick.

James Morton’s free kick from outside the box took a deflection off the defensive wall but, fortunately for Ross, the ball flew straight into his arms. However, the scores were levelled in the 72nd minute when the ball was slipped through to Watkins inside the area, and the wideman directed his drilled low shot into the far corner of the net beyond the hapless keeper.

Having been content to run down the clock until this point, Woking suddenly sprang back into life. Clarke did well to beat away Kretzschmar’s powerful shot from the edge of the box and, on 76 minutes, Scott Durojaiye’s effort was deflected wide of Clarke’s far post for a corner.

Anthony Straker’s shot from 18 yards was narrowly wide of Ross’s framework and, with nine minutes left on the clock, Raynes’ curling free-kick from outside the area was confidently held under his crossbar by the visiting gloveman. Hinds then battled well for possession inside Woking territory and played the ball into the path of Tom Smith inside the box, but his shot was bravely charged down by Durojaiye.

Neither side was able to carve out further chances as time elapsed and the final whistle heralded generous applause from both camps.

Each side will feel that they had the opportunities to win this match but, when the dust has settled, a draw will probably be considered to be the rightful outcome. Once again, City showed their ‘never-say-die’ attitude and refused to be overawed by their high flying opponents. Certainly, nobody can doubt their desire and resolve to secure a play-off place come the end of the season, and it is to their great credit that they continue to employ their passing game, even in the face of adversity.

Bath City; Ryan Clarke, Kevin Amankwaah, Jack Batten, Robbie Cundy, Anthony Straker, Joe Raynes, James Morton, Andy Watkins, Ross Stearn (Sol Pryce 60), Tom Smith, Freddie Hinds. Subs not used; Dan Ball, Harvey Wiles-Richards, Joe Romanski.

Woking; Craig Ross, Jack Cook, Josh Casey, Moussa Diarra, Ben Gerring, Scott Durojaiye, James Ferry (Paul Hodges 83), Armani Little, Jake Hyde (Greg Luer 60), Max Kretzschmar, Kieron Cadogan. Subs not used; Nathan Collier, Kieran Glynn, Reise Allassani.

Referee; Mr. Wayne Cartmel

Attendance; 1,710