Truro City (1)1 Bath City (0)1

[Kelston Koppite]

Bath City fought back from conceding an early goal to take a point from a bruising encounter with Truro City at Plainmoor on a chilly Devonian evening.  The home side, currently hosting their matches at Torquay, led at half time through a Tyler Harvey strike, but the visitors restored parity shortly after the resumption through an Anthony Straker penalty.

Bath started brightly and created an opening in the second minute when Ross Stearn played a ball into the box from the left that found Joe Raynes, but the Cityman shot wide of the near post from a tight angle.

Despite this early promise Truro took the lead in the 3rd minute.  A Connor Riley-Lowe cross into the area from the left was not dealt with by the Bath defence and Tyler Harvey took full advantage by calmly slotting the ball into the far corner of the net beyond the exposed Ryan Clarke.  Protests for a foul in the build-up were waved away by the referee, Mr. Daniel Lamport, a figure who would become increasing central as the game wore on.

The Somerset side were clearly rocked on their heels by this set back, and they were unable to find any cohesion or progression in their play for the remainder of the half.  

The home captain Jamie Richards tried his luck from outside the box on 14 minutes, but suceeded only in clearing the stand behind the goal.  Thereafter followed a sustained period of midfield stalemate with both sides frequently conceding possession and, consequently, goalmouth action was at an absolute premium.  To compound matters the hosts had already embarked on a programme of timewasting antics, kicking the ball away on numerous occasions without any reaction whatsoever from Mr. Lamport.

The general feeling of frustration was not helped by the need for the ball to be replaced on at least four occasions for being underinflated, and a string of questionable and baffling decisions by the referee against both sides.

Jack Batten sustained an injury on the half hour mark and was duly replaced by Kevin Amankwaah.

The visitors were awarded a free kick in the 34th minute, but Stearn’s effort from 30 yards was high and wide of Corey Harvey’s goal.  Bath suddenly found some much needed forward momentum, and Tom Smith’s 40th minute angled shot from the point of the box flew just wide of the far post.  Robbie Cundy then glanced a header wide of the target following a long free kick into the area by James Morton.

The final action before the break saw Riley-Lowe’s crisp shot palmed round the post for a corner by Clarke.

It was a desperately poor first half, and the travelling faithful were hopeful for a better performance from their side after the interval.  Indeed, Bath resumed with a sense of greater urgency and were back on level terms within two minutes.  Michee Efete embarked on a powerful run at the home defence that took him into the box, where he was unceremoniously upended by Jamie Richards.  The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, from where Straker sent Corey Harvey the wrong way and found the left hand corner of the net.

The Romans now sensed that the game was there for the taking and, on 50 minutes, Stearn raced goalwards before playing the ball to Raynes inside the area, but his rising shot was tipped over the bar by the home custodian.

Smith found the net from a similar position seven minutes later but his effort was ruled out by an offside flag.  Tyler Harvey then dispossessed Straker out wide on the right but his early shot from distance was straight at Clarke.

Adam Mann found some space on the edge of the Truro area in the 59th minute, but his firm drive was comfortably held by Corey Harvey.  This was two minutes before a major flashpoint in the game when River Allen went in with a horrendous late sliding challenge on Morton.  Mr. Lamport awarded a free kick to Bath but, after a lengthy stoppage for treatment, he chose only to caution the perpetrator and, even more mysteriously, he also showed a yellow card to Morton.

Whilst Bath were now in the ascendancy, they were still unable to create scoring opportunities or put the home defence under any real pressure, and they were almost made to pay after 73 minutes.  Niall Thompson broke down the right and struck a low show through a crowded area that drew an excellent diving save from Clarke.

Ryan Brunt replaced Stearn on 75 minutes as Bath went in search of a winner, but the closest the substitute came to scoring came with ten minutes left on the clock.  Corey Harvey inexplicably chose to pick up a back pass from Thompson resulting in an indirect freekick inside the box.  Mann touched the free kick to Brunt, but his shot was charged down by Allen who somehow was not penalised for encroachment.

Truro were reduced to ten men in the final minute when Tyler Harvey, having been booked earlier for time-wasting, was shown a second yellow card for an ill judged challenge on Frankie Artus.  By this stage, Mr. Lamport had lost complete control of proceedings, and it took five minutes for the game to restart as firstly, the dismissed player was reluctant to head down the tunnel, and then arguments continued across the pitch.

The final whistle sounded after eight minutes of stoppage time, and a draw was probably the correct outcome taking the whole game into account.  Bath were poor in the first half but improved after the break and, whilst they were the better team overall, they did not create enough upfront to force a victory.  Regrettably, the main talking point after the game was the performance of a referee who appeared totally out of his depth.

Truro City; Corey Harvey, Niall Thompson, Connor Riley-Lowe, Jamie Richards, Ben Harding, Nick Grimes, River Allen, Dan Rooney, Tom Richards, Louis Rooney, Tyler Harvey.  Subs; Billy Palfrey, Ed Palmer, Noah Keats, Jordan Bentley, Jordan Copp.

Bath City; Ryan Clarke, Michee Efete, Anthony Straker, Robbie Cundy, Jack Batten (Kevin Amankwaah 31), Frankie Artus, James Morton, Tom Smith, Joe Raynes, Adam Mann, Ross Stearn (Ryan Brunt 75).  Subs not used; Dan Ball, Kieran Hodges, Ricardo Rees.

Ref:  Mr. Daniel Lamport

Att:  140.

[tovid]

We are rapidly running out of fit players. If Batten doesn't recover then the bench will be full of walking wounded. If Morton or Artus are not deemed fit after their injuries then it could be even worse.

[comrade powell]

Excellent report again, KK. As Jerry mentioned in his post match interview it was a surreal occasion and it must have been difficult for the players to adjust to such a lack of atmosphere. I also wonder if the ref's performance was affected in any way by the appalling lack of floodlighting. There were patches of shadow on several areas of the pitch, and the very similar colours worn by the two teams almost blended at times. I can't believe that Torquay would put up with that if they were playing, but if it's a fault causing the problem it's one they need to sort pdq!

[pete mac]

On injuries Sean Rigg fit for Saturday and Jack sounds not too bad. We’ll have a good 11 and presume Dan Ball and Matt Richards ok for the bench?

[yuffie]

Dan Ball is due to have an operation on his shoulder tomorrow.

[2weirdtown]

On injuries Sean Rigg fit for Saturday and Jack sounds not too bad. We’ll have a good 11 and presume Dan Ball and Matt Richards ok for the bench?

Richards hasn't even made the bench last 3 or 4 games.  He played in the SPC game against Bishops Lydeard.  Last NLS appearance on the pitch was 1st half against Welling where he looked well off the pace.
Is he still with us?

[yuffie]

Yes, he was at Woking on Saturday.

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