Salisbury (0) 1 Bath City (2) 2 – Tuesday 25 February 2025 – Vanarama National League South – The Raymond McEnhill Stadium
Match Report by Mark Stillman.
Two goals in a minute helped Bath City overcome Salisbury in a captivating contest.
Luke Russe and Brad Ash netted just shy of the half hour in a priceless three points for the Romans.
Lewis Brown pulled one back for Salisbury, who also hit the bar through Noah Coppin as they piled on the pressure.
But determined defending, including a stunning Kieran Parselle block in added time, saw City defeat the Whites for the third time this season to move them nine points clear of the bottom four.
Jordan Tillson returned from suspension in place of former Salisbury winger Elliott Frear in City’s only change.
The visitors started with vigour, keen to add to their meagre tally of 12 away league goals this season.
Ewan Clark curled straight at Rhys Byrne when Parselle had room to tee him up from Joe Raynes’ long throw, and 30 seconds later Ash spurned a glorious opportunity.
Former City defender Sido Jombati appeared to handle Parselle’s ball forward, but it landed kindly for Ash who nutmegged Jake Sommerton and found himself one on one.
The forward tried to place the ball in the bottom right corner only to see it fly inches wide when he should have tested Byrne.
Salisbury regrouped and while creating little, they stemmed the Romans’ flow.
That was until a mad 60 seconds put City firmly in the driving seat.
Ash and Scott Wilson brilliantly combined on the edge of the box with the latter spotting Russe’s late run to his right.
Clean through on goal, the midfielder made no mistake, finishing first time across Byrne from 15 yards to make it 1-0.
Eighteen seconds after Salisbury restarted, they found themselves further behind.
Mitch Beardmore intercepted a slack Jombati pass and found Clark in an advanced position.
Surrounded by three players, Clark managed to get a shot away which appeared to be drifting wide.
The uncertain Byrne dived full stretch and batted it back out to Ash, who slotted home from a tight angle.
It rocked the Whites and allowed City to control proceedings, with the hosts’ first half display causing manager Brian Dutton to claim that their players should be docked half their wages.
He replaced Karlos Gregory with Jaden Perez at the break, who offered more protection to the home backline which had been struggling with Way’s side, with Clark, Ash and Wilson giving them plenty to think about.
A few minutes after the restart, Clark’s ball from wide led to Wilson shooting wide of Byrne’s left post.
Salisbury showed little to suggest a comeback was on, before an element of good fortune on the hour gave most of the Raymond McEnhill Stadium a lift.
Raynes came across to cut out Callum Watts’ harmless ball forward, but his clearance ricocheted off Ollie Tomlinson and gave Brown an opening.
The midfielder steadied himself, cutting inside of Parselle before lashing past the helpless Harvey Wiles-Richards.
Coppin was swiftly introduced for Fasanmade as the contest began to open up.
Substitute Frear whipped in a dangerous ball from the left for Ash but Byrne bravely denied him, smothering his effort from close range.
Coppin was inches away from a stunning leveller. Finn Tonks’ cross from the right was deflected into the air by Parselle and his former Chippenham teammate watched it before volleying onto the bar from 10 yards.
Aidan Elliott-Wheeler kept the move alive but threw himself to the ground from Raynes’ challenge with referee Lewis Sandoe booking him for diving.
Wilson was denied by a decent Byrne parry before Salisbury began piling on the pressure in seven minutes of added time.
They nearly found a leveller with seconds left. Elliott-Wheeler’s cross from the left eventually found Coppin, whose goalbound shot was incredibly blocked by Parselle, who hurled his body in the way.
It preserved three points for the Romans, the first time they’ve beaten the same side three times in a season since Histon in 2010/11.
Att: 646
City’s Line-Up: Wiles-Richards, Raynes, Batten, Parselle (c), Wilson (Fisher 90+4), Clark (Nwabueze 87), Tillson, Russe, Tomlinson, Beardmore (Frear 67), Ash. Subs not used: Sweeten, Horsell.
Scorers: City – Russe (28), Ash (29); Salisbury – Brown (60)
City Bookings: Beardmore (11), Parselle (45), Batten (56), Clark (74), Nwabueze (89)
Officials: L Sandoe, S Jenkins, A Cross, N Whittington (4th)
