Next Match – Chertsey Town (H) – FA Trophy
Following three home ties last season, Bath City are at Twerton Park again in the Isuzu FA Trophy as they meet Chertsey Town for the first time.
The Curfews ply their trade in Southern Premier South, one division below the Romans, and are currently 8th in the league. They eased to a 3-0 win over Uxbridge in the last round thanks to Wilfred Omperon and Luke Robertson netting either side of a CJ Fearn own goal. It gained revenge for defeat to the same opposition two years previous and last season’s promotion means they’ve already matched their best performance in this competition, having entered at a latter stage.
‘Last season’s promotion’ is being flippant – Chertsey reached 100 points despite being docked one, only lost one league game (that in September) and scored 103 goals to romp to glory in Isthmian South Central.
Mark Harper’s side have adjusted reasonably well with the step up. They equalled their best FA Cup run, losing in the 4th Qualifying Round to Sutton United despite taking the lead, and have scored three or more on ten separate occasions. It wasn’t enough at the weekend as they fell to a 4-3 home defeat to Swindon Supermarine, who are managed by former Roman Stuart Fleetwood.
Bath City beat Beaconsfield Town and Boreham Wood, both 1-0, in last season’s trophy run, before losing on penalties to Coalville Town following a 0-0 draw in the fourth round.
This season marks the 10-year anniversary of a stunning run to the semi-finals under Lee Howells, City’s best performance in the competition to date. Memorable victories over National League sides Bristol Rovers, Altrincham and Dover Athletic en route earned a semi-final with North Ferriby United, which the Romans lost on penalties after a 3-3 draw on aggregate.
If Saturday’s tie is level after 90 minutes, it will head straight to a penalty shoot-out. The next round takes place on the weekend of Saturday 7 December.
Overall record in the FA Trophy: Pld 156 W70 D34 L52 F254 A207 (draws include two wins and three defeats on penalties):
The 2014/15 run to the semi-finals:
|
Round |
H/A |
Res |
F |
A |
Att |
Scorers and minute(s) |
|
|
SF(2) |
North Ferriby United |
A |
D |
1 |
1 |
1871 |
Nick McCootie 2 |
|
SF(1) |
North Ferriby United |
H |
D |
2 |
2 |
1730 |
Dave Pratt 61 (p), Nick McCootie 85 |
|
QFr |
Dover Athletic |
H |
W |
2 |
1 |
858 |
Dave Pratt 24, Chas Hemmings 29 |
|
QF |
Dover Athletic |
A |
D |
3 |
3 |
985 |
Andy Gallinagh 60, Ross Stearn (2) 71, 82 |
|
3 |
Altrincham |
H |
W |
1 |
0 |
863 |
Phil Walsh 78 |
|
2 |
Wealdstone |
A |
W |
3 |
1 |
553 |
Andy Watkins 2, Ashley Kington 21, Frankie Artus 37 |
|
1 |
Bristol Rovers |
A |
W |
2 |
0 |
3505 |
Own Goal 68, Frankie Artus 72 |
|
3Qr |
Gloucester City |
H |
W |
3 |
1 |
291 |
Andy Watkins 19, Ross Stearn (2) 95, 108 |
|
3Q |
Gloucester City |
A |
D |
0 |
0 |
425 |
Quirks:
- Ross Stearn’s four goals in the run were all from coming on as a substitute.
- Bath City played 17 cup matches that total, the highest since a staggering 27 in 1989/90 when they entered six different competitions.
Tickets are available for Saturday’s match here
This match is all pay but admission prices have been reduced for the game.
If you’re unable to attend, you can obtain updates via:
X – @BathCity_FC
Bath City Radio – Bath City Radio or bathcityradio.mixlr.com. Also on the Mixlr app, search for Bath City Radio. Alex Lane-Kieltyka and Andrew Kerslake on commentary.
Come along to Twerton Park for this Trophy tussle!
