FA Trophy 1st Round
Saturday 16 December 2006 - Cherrywood Road - kick off 3.00pm
half-time: 0-1 result: D1-1 attendance: 393
team: Evans, Rollo (c), Simpson, Coupe, Holland, S Jones, Green, Clarke, Zarczynski (Harris 81), Partridge, McKeever. subs not used: G Jones.
man of the match: Matt Coupe
scorers: Zarczynski (pen 53)
bookings: Coupe (68)
officials: G Evetts, J McGann, M Glading
league position: n/a form: LDWWLD next match: Farnborough (H)
Report taken from by Richard Gadsby

It may have been one of their best results of the season, but there was still a sense of missed opportunity as Bath City came away from Hampshire with a decent draw that was so close to being an excellent win. In short, City pretty much played Farnborough off the pitch – no mean feat considering the state of it. And they were minus two of their most creative players in Scott Rogers and Lewis Hogg. But it has never been Bath City’s way to let things to according to plan and, with John Relish requesting “anything but a draw” before the game, another mid-week replay, their fifth this season, was almost inevitable. Despite Relish’s reservations, this was still a good result considering City had just 12 fit players available. With Hogg calling in sick at the last minute, Rogers suspended, Darren Edwards ineligible, and the youth team having already played that morning, City were down to the bare bones. Gethin Jones was named as a second substitute, but there was never a chance of him featuring and fellow substitute Adie Harris was hardly match-fit following five weeks without a game. Yet City flew out of the traps and came very close to catching their Hampshire hosts cold.

Arek Zarczynski hit a rasping shot on the turn wafter just two minutes which keeper Kevin Scriven did well to smother. The impressive shot-stopper was then forced to claw away a Scott Partridge effort from his near post when the City marksman should have scored. The visitors suddenly found themselves a goal down with less than ten minutes gone. With their first attack of the game, Farnborough’s Lee Rumbold and Michael Charles combined to send Bradley Garness through. Sekani Simpson had a brief chance to clear, missed it, and Garness ran on to fire Farnborough ahead. It was harsh on City, but they responded by rolling their sleeves up. Zarczynski, Mike Greem and Matt Coupe, with a free header six yards out, all came close to levelling before the break. After the interval the hosts hardly had a sniff.

City started the second half even stronger than the first, but were again wasteful. Maybe it was the fact he has been out for two weeks, maybe it is some kind of bizarre Eastern European good fortune dance, but for some reason Zarczynski twice let great opportunities pass him by on the edge of the six-yard box by doing a crab-like jig as the ball got stuck under his feet. If it was the good fortune ritual, it did the trick a few minutes later. What should have been a harmless high ball from Chris Holland into the Farnborough box saw defender Jamie Whisken try to clumsily head the ball only for it to strike his arm. Muted penalty appeals led to the referee pointing to the spot and a gleeful Zarczynski duly drilled home to level the scores. City should really have won it after that. Partridge had two golden chances to give City the lead, Scriven keeping out the first with a fantastic save. The hosts forced their way back into it as the game wore on, but City’s midfield battlers pretty much kept them under wraps, with Dean Clarke at his terrier-like best. Garness came closest for the home side after just failing to steer Matt Pattison cross goalwards and Coupe made a crucial diving defensive header, which for a heart-stopping moment looked destined for an own goal. Almost immediately City went on the attack and a series of quick passes put Partridge through one on one the keeper, but Scriven saved well with his legs. A deflected Green cross hit the bar in the final minutes as the home side found themselves hanging on for the replay.