Southern League Premier Division Saturday 15 April 2006 - Common Road - kick off 3.00pm

Report taken from by Richard Gadsby

The home side started at a frenetic pace but City dealt with it well and created their first opening after just two minutes. A Scott Rogers corner was floated into the box and Steve Jones' first-time shot was blocked. It fell for Phil Walsh but the lively striker fired over from eight yards. City continued to press and it was Walsh who headed them in front from an Alex Sykes corner after 20 minutes. It was no less than City deserved but they really should have made it 2-0 soon after. Matt Coupe's header from a Rogers corner clipped the top of the bar after 24 minutes and then, from another set-piece, Evesham keeper Nathan Vaughan flapped at Sykes' cross. The ball spooned out to Jim Rollo but before the City right-back could shoot, Vaughan tumbled into him and the pair clattered to the floor to the indifference of the referee. Evesham had just started to get back into it when Steve Jones challenged for a header with Steve Duncan and City's Adie Harris and clashed heads with the pair of them. He fell to the floor, failed to get up and, after five minutes of treatment, was eventually strechered off the field to be replaced by Graeme Power. City seemed to take their foot off the pedal for what was left of the half and were made to pay deep into stoppage time when a great low cross from Richard Ball was well left by Dean Curtis and Adam Blake had all the time in the world to sidefoot home.

It was tough on City but they came out for the second half with a point to prove. Rogers and Dean Clarke had already gone close when a great through ball put Sykes clean through after 56 minutes. The City winger capped his best game of the season by calmly waiting for the keeper to commit himself before passing the ball into the net to make it 2-1. Intense City pressure followed but Evesham somehow restricted them to long-range efforts and, as the game wore on, the home side gradually clawed their way back into it. City were still the better side, but, at 2-1, Evesham were still in with a chance and when Andy Smith crashed a 30-yard shot against Chris Astley's crossbar it should have served as a wake-up call. Instead it prompted Evesham's best spell of the game and, whilst City were not quite clinging on, they were certainly on the back foot in the closing stages. Coupe and Gethin Jones, who also briefly went off with a head injury, were equal to it though and, when Ball went off with a hamstring problem, Evesham's best chance of scoring went with him.