FRIDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2007
Blue Square South
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FRIDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2007 Blue Square South |
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Honours were even in this keenly-contested local derby watched by Blue Square South’s biggest attendance of the season and that was a fair outcome to a game in which each side had their spells of ascendancy.
And while an away draw against powerful opponents is a reasonable outcome for County they will be kicking themselves for not going on to kill the game after dictating events for most of the first half, and holding a precious interval lead. County manager Peter Beadle was in an unforgiving mood after the game because he is convinced that his team are capable of much better.
“We defended poorly as a side in the second half and we are well off where I want us to be in terms of performance. Reputations have to be earned and there are too many of our players trying to live off their reputations. We are much too nice as a side.”
Whether Bath City’s manager John Relish will agree is another matter, but the former County boss has fashioned a side which is strong and physical with a hard-tackling midfield duo in Adie Harris and Scott Rogers, a non-stop grafter in Lewis Hogg on the right and the undoubted quality of Mark McKeever on the left.
Nevertheless, County had enough of the play to have established a tight first half grip on proceedings even if two tough defences ensured chances were at a premium. Attacking their massed support behind the goal, County produced their most fluent football of the season in the first half with Richard Evans, in his first league game of the campaign proving a handful for right-back Sekani Simpson.
A lovely piece of skill from Evans seemed to set up a goal for Charlie Griffin on 25 minutes but the flag of the assistant referee was correctly raised and Bath breathed again. It was County’s turn to be grateful for a hawkeyed assistant within a minute when Dave Gilroy used his arm to control the ball before slotting it past Glyn Thompson.
Evans was taken out on the edge of the area as he powered towards goal and then he almost embarrassed Chris Holland into conceding an own goal when his fierce cross from the left was turned just past his own post by the Bath defender. The first half corner tally of 7-1 in County’s favour is an indication of the direction of traffic flow and the seventh of those flag kicks proved decisive. There seemed no undue menace in Jason Bowen’s delivery from the right side but Bath’s immense keeper Paul Evans made a hash of collecting it and IAN HILLIER was able to thread through a header into the net.
More of the same after the break would have been the order of the half-time team talk from Beads, but it was home boss Relish who must have had most work to do. Bath made tactical changes that made their midfield quartet much more effective, and McKeever and Steve Jenkins had a fascinating battle down the Bath left flank, while the combative Hogg was able to subdue Evans though he could rarely get the better of Damon Searle in more advanced positions.
McKeever was fouled by Jenkins in the 63rd minute and took the free-kick himself. As Bath’s players queued in the box, it was the predatory Gilroy who had the final touch to score the equaliser. There were a few vigorous challenges and an apparent elbow to the face of Searle by Edwards incensed the County fans and players with Hillier picking up a card for his protest over refereeing inertia. But the Ukrainian official Mr Saliy had his work cut out and, together with his assistants, got most things right.
The crowd of 1,619 made for a superb atmosphere, if we ignore the banal Anglo-Welsh abuse from the dinosaurs in both camps, and Bath once again demonstrated their ability to host such a game with minimum fuss and effective good-humoured stewarding.
Man of the Match: Bath: Mark McKeever (quality down the left). County: Lee Jarman (strong and dependable). |
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© Colin Jeremiah |
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