Next Match – Larkhall Athletic (H) – SPC
After the disappointment of a last gasp FA Cup exit on Saturday, Bath City enter another competition with slightly less at stake.
Larkhall Athletic arrive at Twerton Park for the third time in nine weeks. The Southern Division One South side lost 3-1 here in a pre-season friendly in August and returned at the end of the month to host Westbury United. Brad Norris, once of Bath, was on target in a 3-2 win.
Since then, they’ve returned to a revamped Plain Ham with a 3G pitch and new 250-seater stand installed. The venue is hosting Step 4 football for an 11th successive season.
Manager Ollie Price, who used to watch Bristol Rovers at Twerton Park, extended his contract in the summer, just as he lost two key players from last term. Arthur Nasta’s performances in goal earned him Supporters’ Player of the Year and a dream move to Wolverhampton Wanderers where he’ll compete in their development squad. Golden Boot winner Archie Ferris also departed for Taunton Town. Both have been missed – outside the bottom four, only Cribbs (5) have scored fewer than Larkhall’s eight goals this season and they’re averaging two goals a game against.
Their FA Cup journey ended in the 3rd Qualifying Round with a respectable 2-1 loss at Boreham Wood, a side flying in City’s division, and their consolation goal through Max Williams was a screamer. The Lawks have picked up four points in their last two game, Saturday saw them recover from a goal down to win 3-1 at Exmouth Town and pull them out of the bottom four.
Tuesday is Bath City’s first home game since 21 September and it’s a chance for Jerry Gill to rotate his squad. Despite being one of the highest ranked sides in the competition, the Romans didn’t receive a bye, but this did them no harm in 2022/23 when they entered this early and went on to win it for a 25th time. Larkhall withdrew last season, preventing a semi-final with eventual winners Taunton Town, and their best finish was runners-up in 2016.
Surprisingly this is only the fourth competitive meeting between the two and only the second at Twerton Park. On a freezing cold night in November 2013, Aaron Brown’s late equaliser for City was almost met with groans as it forced extra-time. James Fisher’s only goal for the club sealed a victory for Lee Howells’ men on a game played on a Monday to avoid a clash with Bonfire Night. The other Somerset Premier Cup meeting, played exactly 20 months ago, was a much smoother success for the Romans. A Sonny Cox hat-trick paved the way for a 5-0 success at Plain Ham in the quarter-finals.
If tomorrow’s tie is level after 90 minutes it will go straight to penalties.
Tickets are available for the latest contest here with reduced prices, so come along and cheer on the Romans as they look to reach round two!
