Bath City (0)3 Braintree Town (1)1

[Kelston Koppite]

Bath City secured their first home victory of the season by virtue of three second half goals that turned the tables on Braintree Town who had led by a solitary goal at the break. Two strikes by Cody Cooke and a header from Alex Fletcher ensured that the majority of the 1,023 crowd left Twerton Park in good spirits.

The early stages were fought out largely in midfield, but City keeper Joe Wright was called into action on 10 minutes when he palmed a 25-yard shot from Alfie Payne over his crossbar.

The visitors were enjoying the bulk of possession and looked the more threatening side going forward. They were rewarded for their dominance in the 20th minute when Alfie Matthews’ inviting cross from the right picked out Levi Amantchi in front of goal, and he duly planted his shot firmly beyond the helpless Wright.

City tried to respond to this setback and Luke Spokes had a sight of goal in the 23rd minute. However, his shot was partially blocked allowing gloveman Jack Sims to collect comfortably.
Town appeared to decide that their best policy was now to slow down the game whenever possible, with the main culprit being Sims who was taking forever to release the ball.

Joe Raynes broke down the right on the half hour mark and slipped the ball into Dan Hayfield’s path, but his shot was blocked by Sims at the near post at the expense of a corner. Scott Wilson then found the net in the 39th minute with a looping header but was foiled by an offside flag.

As half time approached, Raynes played a right wing cross into the near post, but Fletcher slid his effort wide.

Now playing towards the Bath End, the hosts commenced the second period with renewed vigour. Fletcher’s dangerous cross from the right was dipping under the crossbar and Sims did well to turn the ball over the top. Chris Lines the unleashed a powerful low shot from fully 25 yards that passed desperately close to the far post and beyond Sims’ nervously outstretched arms.

Bath restored parity on 56 minutes when Lines’ corner from the right was met with a thumping header by Fletcher that found the corner of the net. With Braintree still reeling, City struck again within 60 seconds. This time, Cooke raced on to a long through ball and lifted a delightful lob over the stranded Sims, finding the unguarded net.

The Iron were now forced to abandon their delaying tactics and, in particular, Sims was notably swifter in his actions. However, they struggled to make any real impression on the home rearguard and, indeed, it was City who posed the greater threat. Hayfield tried his luck in the 61st minute from outside the box with a low shot that was awkwardly shovelled over the bar by Sims and, eight minutes later, Cooke spotted the custodian off his line. His audacious lofted effort from halfway just cleared the crossbar with Sims narrowly escaping considerable embarrassment.

Braintree pressed forward with more urgency as time began to run out and Willie Clemons headed over Wright’s bar with 15 minutes remaining when he should possibly have done better. Then Aaron Blair found space inside City’s box but was blocked by a well-timed tackle from Jordan Dyer before he could release a shot at goal.

Wright was forced into an excellent diving save to deny Joe Muscatt three minutes from time, and Clemons again nodded over the bar from a good position in the final minute.

The home side made the game safe three minutes into stoppage time when Fletcher burst into the area before being felled by Kyron Farrell. The referee, Mr. Dale Wootton, pointed to the spot, from which Cooke made no mistake by sending Sims the wrong way.

This was a performance full of character as City overturned another half time deficit. Their play was bursting with confidence once they had taken the lead, and the margin of victory could well have been greater. For their part, Braintree paid the price for not driving home their first half advantage, instead opting for timewasting tactics that they were later unable to reverse. Jerry Gill’s men will now look to build on their encouraging start to the campaign when they travel to Farnborough next Saturday.

Bath City: Joe Wright, Joe Raynes, Dan Greenslade, Jordan Dyer, Kieran Parselle, Dan Hayfield, Chris Lines, Luke Spokes (Tom Smith 90+4), Alex Fletcher, Cody Cooke, Scott Wilson. Subs not used: Ryan Clarke, Jack Batten, Elliott Frear, Tommy Blackwell.

Braintree Town: Jack Sims, Baris Altintop, Kyron Farrell, Joe Muscatt, John White, Kyran Clements, Chris Regis, Alfie Payne, Levi Amantchi, Alfie Matthews, Aaron Blair. Subs: Ben Fowkes, Willie Clemons, Sama Bessadi, Ezra Ikebuasi.

Referee: Mr. Dale Wootton

Attendance: 1.023