trophy match at Wealdstone

3 rounds to Wembley.......

goalscorers for City were definitely Watkins, Kington and Artus.

Convincing performance in the end, although there were moments in the second half when City rode their luck.

Enjoyed the commentary today, sounded like the win was fully deserved, well done to all concerned

My match day reporter (my Mum) says we played really well. Roll on Monday.

In other news Farnborough drew so Tuesday nights game is off

Congratulations for a fully deserved win,no complaints from me you dominated the game especially in the first half where you could of scored a few more,all the best in the next round and nice see 100 plus away supporters at the Vale.

It was the best performance in the first half I have seen since the Conf Prem days. The second half showed the other side of our game with players working hard to deny Wealdstone time on the ball. With the front two of Watkins and Pratt closing the defenders down at every opportunity they found it hard to escape their area, and it gave the midfield much more space to work in behind. We were often first to the ball, kept it nicely and passed well. The energy of the performance for the full 90 also supports what someone else said about improving fitness.

There were a few dicey moments at the back (there always are), but Simmo in particular looked as unbeatable as the great Des Walker. In fact the most heart stopping moments came from a trio of dreadful kicks from Jason, who passed the ball straight at Wealdstone players. Fortunately they had a lot of pace on them and the players couldn't control the ball to march on goal. Jason's other contributions were much more reassuring. His handling was very secure under pressure, although a late incident in the penalty area could have gone against him.

All in all a great return to form for the team and me! I'm even starting to get a bit excited about the prospects of a longer run this year: fingers crossed!

Great attaching performance 1st half and battling 2nd half. Difficult to pick mom. All contributed as did the wonderful noisy support.

Luton Roman wrote:Great attaching performance 1st half and battling 2nd half. Difficult to pick mom. All contributed as did the wonderful noisy support.

That'll be "attacking" then Gerry, or did we stick solidly to them . Sorry, only halving a laugh

Really feared that today might be an awful let down after the wonderful day at Rovers. But every player did us proud in another excellent team performance. Demon has said it all in his fine summary of the differing halves of the match. Thank goodness the Mellor incident didn't happen a little earlier as the baying fans behind him seemed to cause him to lose his composure. Until then he had had a brilliant game.

Wealdstone Forum gives a lot of credit to Bath City! Well done City, Torquay in next round? Forest Green Rovers are out!

I agree with Comrade.... Feel Mellor had a great game til the final incident caused a wobble. Great display from all the lads, particularly Bowman who seems to get stronger with each game at the moment. Just want to say what a fantastic club Wealdstone are. Fantastic clubhouse and great fans. Excellent contribution to the program from a certain Mr Powell too! If I don't make many away trips next season, I'll certainly make sure Wealdstone is one of them.

Thanks, Dusty! I agree with your praise of the Wealdstone club. They always did have passionate fans and they must have had a rotten period as a nomadic club playing their home games at a variety of venues. Looking at their forum tonight, their fans are clearly upset by their team today, but I think they'll be safe from the drop. I hope so because as you say, they've got a good set up there.

I think they'll be safe too......with Whitehawk getting relegated next season!

Ruislip Stone wrote:Congratulations for a fully deserved win,no complaints from me you dominated the game especially in the first half where you could of scored a few more,all the best in the next round and nice see 100 plus away supporters at the Vale.

Very magnanimous of you, Ruislip. Felt it was all us first half and, while you did certainly have some very good chances second half, nothing much happened. Excellent club, great clubhouse and passionate supporters which you should be known for rather than some viral Facebook stunt. Am looking forward to going back.

Lastly, if you are on your Twitters, Facebooks and/or forum, could you spread the word that everyone that was involved in the Foodbank day at our place on December 20th said that you were an incredibly generous bunch with cash donations?

Marc Monitor wrote:Very magnanimous of you, Ruislip. Felt it was all us first half and, while you did certainly have some very good chances second half, nothing much happened. Excellent club, great clubhouse and passionate supporters which you should be known for rather than some viral Facebook stunt. Am looking forward to going back.

Yea I'd second that. They really have got the matchday experience sorted there. Even little things like the club shop with selection of badges are heaven for a lot of people. There's a variety of food, the programme is absolutely superb and they just seem to all be pulling in the right direction. I don't often stand near visiting supporters taking photos (and as I'm usually at the end we're attacking I don't end up near them), but the couple of guys near me seemed incredibly level-headed and complimentary when both teams played good football. There was also one unusual moment when I moaned at Watkins for straying offside, in my opinion, and being surprised with the fellas behind me saying he'd timed it perfectly and the linesman was right to keep is flag down - should be the other way around!

In fact I'd only have one complaint - Wealdstone need new floodlights! Taking photos in the second half was a nightmare, but the other photographer (another really nice guy) had warned us about that beforehand.

Really hope we don't end up drawing someone like Braintree or Dover away, the total opposite of the friendliness shown at Wealdstone. I know it's easier to say this after we've won, and won well, but I remember thinking the same the only time we played at AFC Wimbledon, they just seemed to have it exactly right for a matchday. And they beat us both times we played there.

In a nutshell, clubs like Wealdstone are what non league football should be like, instead of the 'professional' approach which has filtered down with relegation from League 2.

stillmanjunior wrote:but the other photographer (another really nice guy) had warned us about that beforehand.

Assuming it is the same bloke (they only had one photographer at the league game), he appears to get quite a bit of stick on their forum. Also seems he was asked to delete his photos of their striker having a hissy fit when he was substituted.

They had a couple there on Saturday and he (the one we both spoke to in the league game) seemed perfectly pleasant to me, think he's just started following me on Twitter.

Thanks for all the nice compliments above,all the bulbs on our floodlights are being replaced in the very near future so hopefully you will get some better photos next season

Good work, believe me I've come across far worse! The Somerset Premier Cup is a real tester.

You must have a really avid club historian going by the paper cuttings I've seen in each programme. Very impressive.

agree with everything said about wealdstone and the set up they have.
probably the best burger i have had at a football ground.
i also hope they stay up.
as for playing them next season i hope its just a cup game.
still hope for a promotion through the play offs
the treble is still on

A lot of happy and familiar faces in Mark's photo in the Chronicle

http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Bath-City-home-Altrincham-FA-Trophy-round/story-25842106-detail/story.html