British Gas Business Football League Premier Division
Saturday 2 December - Twerton Park - kick off 3.00pm

half-time: 0-0

result: W3-0

attendance: 700

team:	Evans, Rollo (c) (Simpson 78), Green, Coupe, Holland, S Jones, Rogers, Hogg, Edwards, Partridge, McKeever. subs not used: York, Clarke, Pursall, Tyers.
man of the match:	Chris Holland
scorers:	Partridge (46), Edwards (64), Own Goal (84)
bookings:	none
officials:	S Knapp (Bristol), D McEllin (Bristol), M Russell (Bristol)

league position: 1st

form: WWLDWW

next match: Tiverton (A)

Report taken from

by Richard Gadsby

A goal on his debut from new boy Darren Edwards, two points clear at the top of the league, progress in the FA Trophy and a comfortable victory over a decent Halesowen side - Bath City have certainly had worse weeks. City's strikers, who made the most of just a handful of chances, will understandably grab the plaudits after the club's fourth straight BGB Premier Division win and there are already promising signs that the Scott Partridge-Edwards combination could prove a very fruitful partnership. But, in truth, this was a victory built on the back of a near flawless defensive display. For all their pace, power and experience up front, a very sharp Halesowen forward line failed to create anything approaching a goalscoring opportunity for 90 minutes. Chris Holland enjoyed his best game for the club, Matt Coupe won a genuinely entertaining personal battle with Matt Lewis and full-backs Jim Rollo and Mike Green hardly put a foot wrong. At the other end of the pitch, 'clinical Bath City' is a phrase rarely used at Twerton Park, but a glance at the shots on target statistic shows just why the club were so desperate to bring another 20-goals-a- season striker on board. Since Relish took over, Partridge has seen a consistent stream of strike partners come and go, but early indications suggest he has finally been sided with someone who can take chances and work hard off the ball.

It was almost a dream start for Edwards, too. With just two minutes on the clock, the former Yate striker was just short of getting on the end of a good ball from Partridge. The pair linked up again two minutes later when a move initiated by Partridge down the right saw Edwards race to the byline. He had the vision to lay a perfect pull-back in the path of Lewis Hogg, but the midfielder skewed wide from 16 yards. In the thrill of a 3-0 victory at full-time, it's easy to forget that the rest of the first half was pretty drab. The home side had the better of the exchanges, but credit to Halesowen who stifled the City threat and always looked dangerous on the break. Fourth-choice Yeltz keeper Chris Jay did well to smother a curling Jim Rollo effort, but that was the only shot on target before the break.

The game was given a much-needed injection of excitement a minute into the second half by, of all people, Paul Evans. Despite hardly having a save to make all game, he still managed to leave his mark. A huge clearance from the City shot-stopper was aimed at Edwards, but the striker's attempted, or was it dummied, header failed to connect with the ball to the surprise of the Halesowen defence. Partridge made the most of the hesitation to race clean through and dink the ball gently over Jay to make it 1-0. Halesowen pushed forward after the goal, but it was City who made the most of the space. It was 2-0 on 65 minutes when Edwards tapped home at the back post after Holland had flicked on a Mark McKeever corner. And City made it comfortable with six minutes to go when Nick Amos could only head the ball into his own net from another McKeever corner.