Saturday 3 April 2004 - Hardenhuish Park - kick off 3.00pm Dr Martens Premier Division

With keeper Paul Evans overcoming a groin injury – although he could not take any goal kicks – and loan signing Jamie Cook changing his mind about returning to Stevenage Borough, City began the game with an unchanged line-up to the one that drew 0-0 with Dorchester the previous Saturday. Facing them was a Chippenham side containing no less than seven ex-City players plus another two on the bench. The game was less than five minutes old when City should have taken the lead. Steve Tweddle – the one City player to have played for Chippenham – sent a perfect pass through to Scott Partridge but he could only stab the chance wide of the post. Both sides were struggling to get the ball down on the poor surface although what little constructive football there was out there was coming from City. On 19 minutes they wasted another great opening. Hervin spilled a Tweddle cross under challenge from Owers. The loose ball dropped to Cook only for Charity to block his shot on the line. The home players were convinced that Owers’ had fouled the keeper but they were soon benefiting from referee decisions. Gould was fortunate to escape even a yellow card for a crude lunge at Partridge and then they were awarded a free-kick for handball against Evans after Paul had pushed him out of his area. Walker blasted the set-piece high over bar. This was a rare threat on City’s goal and they were soon back on the attack. Partridge headed Cook’s free-kick over the bar and Bobby Ford fired a well-struck shot straight at Hervin. Partridge and Cook then failed to direct further chances on target and the game reached the break goalless.

The interval saw City forced to swap dead leg victim Bobby Ford with Russell Milton and within five minutes of the restart Owers limped from the pitch with the same problem to be replaced by Jim Rollo. It got even worse for the City boss five minutes later when he queried a laughable throw-in decision by the linesman. He immediately flagged and following a brief conversation the referee sent Owers from the dugout. Every decision he made now seemed to be laced with controversy. Constable clearly fouled Sam Bailey before running clear only to over hit his cross. The next debatable decision had a more decisive outcome as City took the lead on the back of it. On 63 minutes Tweddle’s pass freed Partridge to square the ball toward Cook. As he was about to shoot Wilmot’s challenge sent him to the floor. Mr Milford was probably in a minority of one in thinking it was a foul but his decision was the important one and Partridge made no mistake from the penalty spot. If the manner of the breakthrough was hard on the hosts it was no less than City deserved but it was also the signal for Chippenham to finally come to life. With 20 minutes remaining Evans produced a top quality double save to preserve City’s advantage. First he pushed away Griffin’s free-kick and then denied Constable from close-range after Gould had turned the loose ball back across goal. The danger was finally cleared when Bailey knocked Badman’s follow-up off the line. Frankie Bennett and Tweddle both wasted chances to seal the game in the final ten minutes. Going for broke Chippenham threw centre-back Gould up front and with just a minute remaining this positive approach paid off. Walker’s corner was headed back to him by Bailey and his second attempt found the head of Paul and, despite Evans getting a hand to it, the ball found the corner of the net. There was no time for any repeat of last season’s injury-time excitement and when the final whistle went the home side were the one’s celebrating a point that they scarcely deserved.