City 0 Tonbridge 0

Yuk. As poor as we were good v. Welling. Until Tom Smith's searing run on 89m we did little. Tonbridge gave us time and a third of the pitch but we created little. Don't recall their keeper having to do much whereas Clarke had to be agile a few times. Harvey seemed off it today and his uncharacteristic blazing over of the pen summed up his and City's day. Tonbridge grew in confidence and in the end we take the point and move on.

Just about sums it up. We looked like world beaters for the first ten minutes but then the wheels slowly came off. I think to be fair Tonbridge became more and more cynical and a young side like ours will struggle with that.
I was surprised Hamlin went off and It was then that we lost control. Second half we were poor but at least we stuck it out.
Hartcliffe took a booking for the team and we got back to our usual penalty form.
A mixed bag.

tovid wrote:Hartcliffe took a booking for the team and we got back to our usual penalty form.

Second penalty miss in our last eleven isn't too shabby. Was surprised he went for height, though.

The Hartridge yellow was extraordinary. The fact that two officials got it wrong more so. Could've completely changed the game and Tonbridge might feel irked that they didn't record a win because of it.

Thought we looked tired, understandable given the number of games played. Just didn’t click today but we didn’t lose and we’ve made a really good start, we'd have all taken 11 points from 5 surely?

Can’t win them all, week off for the players then onto Slough next week. 3G pitch might help us with young players who will be experienced on them.

As games go, it wasn't the worst I've seen, but everything seemed a bit 'muted' today. It looked like the Angels had come for the draw, stuck a lot of men behind the ball and City had trouble breaking them down. Started off really lively and had our chances in the game but the more it went on the more I thought it would end zilch-zilch. Glad of the point in the end, after that fine save from Ryan Clark as the clock ticked down. Still undefeated. Keep going boys!

I think we are going to have to get used to teams coming to Twerton and setting up like Tonbridge did - Hungerford tried it on Tuesday but we played better against them than we did today.

We could and probably should have scored in the first minute and for about 10 minutes we were well on top with Tonbridge on the back foot and the keeper looking very dodgy. After that we were never quite on it and Tyler’s penalty miss probably summed up the afternoon. Just one of those days though and 11 points and still unbeaten at this stage is probably something we can all be content with.

It was a slightly strange game but one that had the penalty gone in I think we'd have all gone home happy with the performance and result. Until we were caught short at the back in the last minute we never looked like losing the game and had three or four decent chances in the first half. I agree we lost our way a bit early in the second half but were well on top after the penalty.

I don't think anyone was too sure what the penalty was given for but my pictures suggest their no.9 rugby tackled Ryan Brunt as the ball came in, so that was a good call by the referee.

By contrast we had a massive escape when he booked Hartridge instead of Harvey Smith. I don't think I've ever seen that happen in all the years I've watched City and it was more remarkable as it happened right in front of the linesman. Given the nature of the quick break you could perhaps understand why the ref was behind play. Credit to Harvey for getting clear of the scene a bit lively though!

Interesting to read what Yuffie says about the booking. My initial thought was that it should have been a straight red, and I assumed that that was why the Tonbridge players surrounded the referee and got him to speak to the assistant - obviously they were trying to point out the ‘mistaken identity’. It clearly isn’t just us who can’t tell the players apart!

I think what happened was that Hartridge, with his professional head on, scooted on a few yards after the obstruction/tackle, to make it seem as thought H. Smith wasn't the last man. The ref, well off the pace, must have assumed that he was the guilty party trying to make a dash for it to pretend innocence and book him. As he complained about the booking, though, we were willing him to be quiet and take it for the team!

I'm not sure what the liner's excuse was though - it was right in front of him. He must have been looking down the line for the offside... possibly.

Who is the Edwards mentioned in the post match interview, apparently awaiting clearance so I am assuming he is Welsh?

Opi's brother, on the booked of Newport.

Back to the penalty bit, I can understand why some fans think it is a curse more than others. The last eight we've missed have ALL been at home:

2019-20 17/08/2019 Tonbridge Angels (Tyler Harvey)
2018-19 23/02/2019 Slough Town (Anthony Straker)
2018-19 27/08/2018 Weston Super Mare (Sean Rigg)
2017-18 28/04/2018 St Albans City (Matt Richards)
2017-18 17/02/2018 Whitehawk (Jack Compton)
2017-18 02/12/2017 Hemel Hempstead Town (Nat Jarvis)
2017-18 21/10/2017 Braintree Town (Nat Jarvis)
2017-18 14/10/2017 Chelmsford City (Jack Compton)

It's cost us eight points and potential progress in the FA Cup (Chelmsford).

In return, we've scored our last six away. Last to miss was Jack Compton at Hungerford, moments after he scored one.