Next Match – St Albans City (A)
Bath City will spend a fifth successive Saturday away from home for the first time since September-October 2005.
Following trips to Salisbury, Chesham, Aldershot and Hornchurch, the sequence ends at Clarence Park, home of struggling St Albans City, who haven’t won at the venue in the league since April.
David Noble, a former teammate of Jordan Tillson, was re-appointed manager in the summer. He initially departed at the turn of the year to take over at Wealdstone, but was dismissed after 73 days. Jon Meakes ended last term in charge of the Saints but has now reverted to assistant with Noble in his place.
It hasn’t had the desired effect thus far. One win in 13 league games means the Hertfordshire club are 23rd. Their last two wins have both been 1-0 against Hampton & Richmond – home in April, away last month thanks to Ken Charles’ strike. They were denied three points in a dramatic finale on Tuesday at Slough. Substitute Makise Evans’ 90th minute finish appeared to earn three priceless points, but Francis Amartey’s glancing header in added time meant they had to settle for a draw.
City have drawn their last two league games against sides below them. Whilst defensively the Romans have excelled, conceding fewer than league leaders Farnborough, a catalogue of injuries in attack has resulted in a lack of goals.
If Jack Batten figures it will be his 300th appearance for the Stripes, ironically at a venue where he made his 200th outing – an eventful 2-3 loss in February 2022. Jerry Gill’s first game in charge was at St Albans in October 2017, a 2-0 defeat. Zane Banton started that game, he’s still on Saints’ books and recently passed 250 appearances.
Tomorrow is the 25th meeting between Bath City and St Albans City, all have taken place in Conference/National League South. The solitary draw was a 0-0 on the final day of the 2009/10 season which clinched a play-off spot for the Romans, two weeks before securing promotion.
Overall record v St Albans City: Pld 24 W14 D1 L9 F33 A26
Bath City’s record at St Albans in Conference/National League South:
|
Season |
Date |
Res |
F |
A |
Att |
Scorers and minute(s) |
|
2023-24 |
28/08/2023 |
W |
2 |
0 |
1745 |
Scott Wilson 34 (p), Own Goal 41 |
|
2022-23 |
26/11/2022 |
L |
0 |
3 |
1186 |
|
|
2021-22 |
26/02/2022 |
L |
2 |
3 |
1440 |
Cody Cooke 40, Alex Fletcher 45+4 |
|
2019-20 |
19/10/2019 |
W |
1 |
0 |
678 |
Tom Smith 26 |
|
2018-19 |
13/10/2018 |
W |
2 |
0 |
1432 |
Ryan Brunt 9, Adam Mann 33 |
|
2017-18 |
07/10/2017 |
L |
0 |
2 |
1510 |
|
|
2016-17 |
18/02/2017 |
W |
4 |
1 |
839 |
Marvin Morgan 3, Nick McCootie 22, Shawn McCoulsky 60, Andy Watkins 89 |
|
2015-16 |
22/08/2015 |
W |
1 |
0 |
424 |
Frankie Artus 31 (p) |
|
2014-15 |
06/12/2014 |
L |
0 |
1 |
448 |
|
|
2009-10 |
30/01/2010 |
W |
2 |
0 |
383 |
Chris Holland 5, Lewis Hogg 79 |
|
2008-09 |
25/10/2008 |
L |
1 |
2 |
472 |
Sekani Simpson 13 |
|
2007-08 |
23/02/2008 |
W |
2 |
1 |
405 |
Dave Gilroy 46, Darren Edwards 87 |
Quirks:
- City have scored 17 goals at Clarence Park. All 17 from different players.
- Last season was the first time City had completed the double over St Albans since 2016/17. The Saints had won the previous five meetings.
Last meeting:
17 February 2024 – National League South
Bath City 3 (Smith 41; Chin 63; Alabi 88) St Albans City 1 (Jeffers 90+2)
Line-ups:
Bath City: Casa-Grande; Raynes, Dyer, Parselle, Greenslade; Hayfield, Smith (Wilson 72), Russe; Chin (Frear 81), Cooke (Alabi 84). Clark. Sub not used: Batten, Lines.
St Albans City: Johnson; Bowry, Clark, Francis-Clarke; James, Hoddle (Hutchinson 69), Smith (Blackman 79), Rasulo (Burger 69), Banton; Weiss, Jeffers. Subs not used: Brown, Hamid.
Referee: Callum Fisk
Star man: Tom Smith
Attendance: 1,410
A near-perfect home performance saw Bath City overcome play-off rivals St Albans. Tom Smith and Richard Chin benefitted from defensive mistakes with James Alabi adding a third late to rubberstamp the win. Shaun Jeffers pulled one back in added time, ending City’s run of five successive clean sheets. But it was just consolation for the visitors who lost for the first time under interim boss Jon Meakes.
Tickets available for Saturday’s match are available here.
City will be wearing black and white for this match.
Away travel:
There will be a supporters’ coach running to this game. You can book online, departure times and information included, or by contacting cheryl.morgan@bathcityfootballclub.co.uk. The coach will be leaving early to allow a longer stay in St Albans.
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. Mark Stillman and Matt Francis on commentary.
Come along and see if Bath City can extend their unbeaten league run to four!
