12 February 2017

Bath City 4 Truro City 0

Bath City went from almost letting slip a leveller to routing Truro City in the space of 17 frenetic second-half minutes.
A goal to the good courtesy of Axel Andresson's first-period penalty, the Romans centre-half gave up one to the visitors himself in the closing stages.
But he was left owing goalkeeper Max O'Leary a drink or two, as the goalkeeper kept out fouled party Niall Thompson's penalty to spark City back into life.

And within a flash the advantage was doubled through Billy Murphy before Andy Watkins closed out the game with a quickfire brace to reach double-figures on the season.
With the result, City totted up their third straight win and made it seven games without defeat.

The struggling visitors, who had already conceded five at Hungerford Town on Monday night, were rarely given a sniff in a fairly lifeless first period.
Watkins linked up with Marvin Morgan early in the piece and had the opening shot blocked out as the Romans looked liveliest from the off.
The ball only spent time on the ground sporadically as both sides failed to take full control of the game.
But defensively-mind Truro, playing with a three-man defence, would create only one half-decent shooting opportunity by the break.
Gradually City grew into the game, although without testing visiting keeper Martin Rice.
Frankie Artus fired over, before an excellent midfield turn from Murphy set George Rigg away down the right and clear to whip a cross over.
It took two bites to get a ball in, his second delivery just too high for McCoulsky to get on top of.
Watkins also failed to hit the target after excellent build-up from Nick McCootie, who rode a challenge, burst to the byline and slipped in a low ball the top scorer could only send into the side-netting.
The penalty decision itself was somewhat innocuous as Artus' volley bounced into the ground and back up at Arran Pugh.
Referee Will Finnie was nevertheless happy to point to the spot, with Axel confidently slotting the ball just out of Rice's reach.
More excellent approach play from the hosts came and went unrewarded, the Truro defence regularly scrambling, but their custodian only called into action to punch clear a Watkins cross and keep out a tame McCootie dig.
All Truro could muster by the break was a rangy hammer from Connor Riley-Lowe, from a sweeping Tyler Harvey pass, that sailed into the depths of the Bristol End.
There was little change come the second half as City immediately went on the front foot.
Rice slashed a terrible clearance behind for a corner, from which McCoulsky flicked a header past the far post.
Artus blazed over the crossbar from a presentable 15-yards out, having latched onto a deft Morgan dink over the last defender.
Eventually Truro began to rally and force the hosts backwards, with ex-Roman Ben Adelsbury forcing O'Leary into a sprawling save with a header at a corner.


The fouled party stepped up to take the penalty himself and sent it straight down the middle, and low, for O'Leary to save and smother.
That spurred City to get back on track and make the final result comfortable and they got the second when Murphy's long-range effort deflected past a wrong-footed Rice.
The next soon arrived as Watkins jagged in from the left flank, exchanged a lightning-quick one-two with McCootie and slotted in.
Rice made a double save to keep City at bay as he parried a McCootie strike out to McCoulsky before faintly touching the follow-up header wide.
In the end there was no denying the Romans number four. Artus found Watkins in acres of space on the left with a perfect cross-field ball to net his tenth of the season and round off the scoring.

Bath City: O'Leary; Rigg, Batten, Andresson, Welch-Hayes, Artus, Watkins, Murphy, McCootie, Morgan (Hemmings 77), McCoulsky (Hunter 90+2).
Subs not used: Hutchinson, Simpson, Diallo.

Truro City: Rice; Adelsbury, Richards, Riley-Lowe, Bentley, Pugh, Knowles, Harvey, Neal (Thompson 63), Smith (Yetton 80), Allen (Byrne 63).
Subs not used: Brett, Booth.

Referee: Will Finnie.
Attendance: 543.
Chronicle star man: Max O'Leary.

Read more at http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/bath-city-4-truro-city-0-max-o-leary-penalty-stop-inspires-romans-to-rout-cornish-visitors/story-30129150-detail/story.html#ch7haYYuF2QRCzks.99

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