Another tough test awaits Bath City as they host second place Maidstone United. From City veterans congregating pre-match to young children freely playing pitchside, a feeling of community, whatever the result, spreads round the stadium.
Both sides’ previous outings were FA Cup qualifying victories; Bath off the back of a closely fought but deserved 1-0 win over local opponents Shaftesbury, while Maidstone come in after a more comfortable 3-1 win over Chichester. A minute’s applause is observed for the NHS workers given free admittance today… then the hosts kick off.
In previous outings, the early exchanges are often attack-oriented, both teams going for an early goal, though the start of this one proved slow and fairly uneventful. After a quarter of an hour, however, the away side win a corner…
‘15 Bath can only stub the ball clear before it gets fired back. Murphy Mahoney parries it well but Taylor Curran prods the rebound away. Maidstone have been on top in what efforts there’d been and the Romans now need to wake up..
‘19 Which they do from the off. They push into the box with some neat passing. Holness then picks up a loose ball, rolls it back to Mo Touray. He sets himself and lets a wonderful shot fly. Gasps engulf the ground though to the away side’s relief it rattles off the right hand post.
Bath then proceed to stamp their foot on the game, not letting the Stones have a glimpse of their attacking half through the sheer amount of pressure.
‘40 When Maidstone did counter, they did so clinically and nearly fatally for the Romans, a precise cut back left City doomed, though the shot deflected wide.
A relatively dull first half ends shortly following that chance. The game looks Bath’s to win at the moment but Maidstone have had the necessary cutting edge
The floodlights become ever more prominent as the second half starts and the sun slowly lies down, that winter football feeling has arrived again.
‘53 Sam Corne bolts down the right side evading his marker on the counter, he then plays an inch-perfect cross which Joan Luque latches on to. The Spaniard bends his shot into the opposite corner for a well-worked second. It’s against the run of play but United’s professional potency showed once more.
‘68 With the game ebbing out of their grasp, Bath bring on top scorer Cody Cooke. The Romans are having the best of the game but can’t convert. His first impression is a cross-shot that has the keeper worried. With time ticking away, CIty launch another attack..
‘71 Touray turns his man and lays it off to Joe Raynes; the left back cuts in and unleashes a swerving shot inwards. A Maidstone defender gets back just in time.
‘73 The away fans hit full volume and their side finds a way out of their half, Roarie Deacon being harshly brought down in the box but the referee waving play on.
‘77 Luque then decides to take matters into his own feet, receiving a ball just over the halfway line and speeding into the box. He dances past the sleepwalking defence before simply placing it into the net. A truly majestic third to all but seal the deal.
‘86 But they aren’t done there, an ambitious pass finds Christy Pattison who takes on a spectacular 40-yard volley catching goalkeeper Mahoney in no-man’s-land, the ball cruising over his head..
Onto the top of the net..
The referee blows his whistle. The sole difference once more being that Bath couldn’t put their chances away. Maidstone, on the contrary, were devastatingly efficient. The key for City is consistency, they’ve won three and lost four, an uneasy season could be ahead if they can’t get a good run going… They take on Frome Town next in the FA Cup, a win could be the start of something big.
Attendance: 1084 Bath City 0-3 Maidstone United
Image: 3:24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGGZAizwx_Y