British Gas Business Football League Premier Division
Saturday 23 December 2006 - Vauxhall Road - kick off 3.00pm
half-time: 0-1 result: L0-1 attendance: 235
team: Evans, Green, Rollo (c), Coupe (Zarczynski 80), Holland, S Jones, Clarke (Harris 67), Hogg, Edwards, Partridge, McKeever (Davidge 62). subs not used: Rogers, Simpson.
man of the match: Mike Green
scorers: none
bookings: Rollo (57)
officials: J Evamy (Ruislip), I Jempeji (Alperton), K Howick (Oxford)
league position: 3rd form: WWLDLL next match: Team Bath (H)
Report taken from by Richard Gadsby

The unbeaten run had to end sometime, but the manner of Bath City's first away defeat of the BGB Premier Division season was more worrying than the result. John Relish's wayward strikers once again failed to find the net, but this time it was against the leakiest defence in the league. In fact, despite creating almost 30 goalscoring chances in their final three pre-Christmas fixtures, City have only scored once and that goal came from the penalty spot. This loss, their third from their previous four games, was the worst of the bunch. Several players played well below par, Mark McKeever the most notable, and yet they still created more than enough scoring opportunities to put the game to bed. Scott Partridge, guilty of so many near misses recently, proved that when confidence is low nothing goes right as a combination of bad luck and woodwork conspired to keep him from scoring despite a tireless running display. The only real positive was yet another superb defensive performance which should have been the platform for a comfortable three points. As it was, a beautiful strike from Anthony Thomas, rumoured to be on the verge of a huge £30,000 move to a league club, midway through the first half sealed the points for Hemel.

Thomas troubled Paul Evans with a low header for the game's first chance early on, but City, playing down a steep incline in the first half, pressed the hosts for the next 20 minutes. Darren Edwards forced Hemel keeper Steve Smith into two smart stops and, sandwiched between those efforts, a Scott Partridge header was blocked on the line with what looked suspiciously like a hand. There was nothing suspicious about it three minutes later as Gary Sippetts escaped unpunished after controlling a high clearance with his arm before playing in Thomas on the left. It was a minor mistake, but a drop of the shoulder fooled last defender Mike Green into allowing Thomas to cut inside when he should have been forced wide. With Green wrong-footed for just a fraction of a second, the Hemel striker unleashed an inch-perfect curling effort which flew over Evans' outstretched palm but dipped just in time to find the corner. City responded well and Partridge had strong claims for a penalty turned down when he was bundled over trying to reach a dangerous cross into the area from Lewis Hogg. A 30-yard effort from Dean Clarke stung Smith's hands as City piled forward, but they were almost caught out at the other end when Green made a crucial interception to block Sippetts' low cross to Thomas for what would have been a certain goal.

City huffed and puffed in the second half, but never looked like finding a way through. Unlucky Partridge came closest to levelling after latching onto a Matt Coupe throughball on 65 minutes. The City striker turned his marker and, from 12 yards out wide left, drilled a low shot past the diving keeper only to see the effort bounce off the post and into the prone shotstopper's grateful arms. Smith had to be sharp to stop a Craig Davidge effort at his near post with quarter of an hour to go and, with time running out, City tried a three-man strike-force. With plenty of space at both ends, the two teams created a host of half-chances without ever really looking like scoring and Hemel held on for the win.