British Gas Business Football League Premier Division Monday 28 August 2006 - Twerton Park - kick off 3.00pm

Report taken from by Richard Gadsby

It made for a genuinely entertaining spectacle - and yet things had all looked so familiar for the first half hour. City raced out of the traps and created a flurry of chances as they camped themselves around the Team Bath box. A Mark McKeever free-kick on the edge of the area went inches wide and then Lewis Hogg saw two good strikes come close as City pressed for an opener. They finally got it when Mike Green gambled on a missed header from Andy Reiley, from a Hogg cross, and then blasted the ball home in off the post. A great turn and strike from Phillip Walsh a few minutes later flew just past the upright and, with half-time approaching, it looked like it was going to be a case of how many City would get before the break. Instead, John Relish's side took their foot off the pedal and allowed Team Bath to play their way back into the game. Sean Canham had scuffed the students' first clear chance of the half, following a kind deflection in the box, when skipper Neil Saunders struck a scarcely deserved equaliser from ten yards out as City failed to clear their lines.

Controversy and confusion reigned at the start of the second half. Team Bath thought they had taken the lead almost straight from the kick-off when Adi Adams' cross was slid home by Dan Dylan. The Team Bath players were still congratulating each other and preparing for the restart before the referee finally made it clear he had ruled the goal out for handball. The man in black levelled things up a few minutes later by chalking off a towering Matt Coupe header for offside. After that it was end-to-end stuff with both sides sensing another goal. A McKeever header from a throw-in dipped just over the bar as City pressed whilst Sean Canham and Adi Adams continued to bring out the best from City's defence. The game's next major turning point proved decisive. Relish threw on super-sub Craig Davidge and Nat Pepperell in a bid to try and take the game to Team Bath and, from then on, always looked the side most likely to grab a winner. Davidge did just that when he picked up a Hogg pass on the right, cut inside to sprint towards goal and then drilled a great strike into the bottom left-hand corner. To their credit, Team Bath refused to let the game go and there was still time for some drama at the other end. Sub Jake Reid picked out Canham with a blinding nutmeg pass with ten minutes to go to leave the Team Bath striker with a clear run on goal. He was under pressure from the chasing defence but should have done better with a shot that fell tamely into the keeper's hands. Steve Jones was then forced into a crucial man-and-ball sweeping tackle on Josh Lewellyn before the young hot-shot could break through. And City were forced to ride their luck right at the death when an in-swinging free-kick was poorly dealt with by the defence. In the ensuing scramble the ball was headed against the City crossbar twice before the referee blew for a push to the collective relief of the 'travelling' fans.