British Gas Business Football League Premier Division
Tuesday 13 February 2007 - York Road - kick off 7.45pm
half-time: 2-0 result: W2-0 attendance: 258
team: Evans, Simpson, Rollo (c), G Jones, Holland, S Jones, Hogg, Rogers (Clarke 69), Edwards (Harris 89), Partridge, McKeever (Green 84). subs not used: Coupe, Walsh.
man of the match: Scott Partridge
scorers: Partridge (44), Hogg (45)
bookings: Edwards (83)
officials: S Phipps
league position: 1st form: WLWWDW next match: Banbury (H)
Report taken from by Stephen Ware

The driving rain and waterlogged pitch turned last night's match into something of a lottery, but City did not slip up, beating Maidenhead to move five points clear at the top of the BGB Premier Division. Locals laughed at the irony of playing Bath in such conditions, but City would not have been smiling if goals from Scott Partridge and Lewis Hogg on the stroke of half-time had not given them the points in a match that should never have started.

City started the brightest on a saturated surface and Mark McKeever's early cross nearly deceived Francisco Ramos in the Maidenhead goal. Darren Edwards was presented with a chance after the ball held up in one of several pools of standing water, but he drove his effort into Ramos's midriff. Darti Brown capitalised on one of numerous moments of defensive panic caused by the ball holding up on the soaking pitch when he burst into the City area before firing left footed over the bar. As passes continued to fall short, defending became all the more frantic and Stephen Hughes latched on to one of many wayward passes to power a shot goalwards, but Paul Evans tipped over at full stretch. Edwards nearly gave City the lead on the half hour when he fired against the inside of the post following a Partridge centre before being flagged offside. Dean Fenton matched that effort moments later when he smashed the ball against the angle with Evans rooted to the spot. Edwards went even closer to putting the visitors in front on 36 minutes as he headed Partridge's byline cut-back into the corner of the net only to again be denied by the linesman. Then, at the end of the first half, just as it looked as though the weather was the only winner, City pounced twice in the space of two minutes. First, Partridge finished from close range after Ramos palmed a McKeever shot into his path. Then, in the 45th minute, Partridge again found himself bearing down on goal. Ramos dropped his effort, but the ball fell to Hogg, whose shot trickled over the line.

The tide had not turned at the start of the second half, as Chris Holland saw a header cleared off the line five minutes after the restart. The sodden pitch continued to wreak havoc as Partridge inexplicably tumbled unchallenged when trying to convert a McKeever centre. McKeever then controlled the ball on his chest before firing at Ramos on the hour, but that was a rare foray forwards as City were content to slog it out in the midfield marshland.