Weston Super Mare (1) 2 Bath City (0) 2 – Somerset Premier Cup Semi-Final – Tuesday 17 April 2018 – Woodspring Stadium
(City lost 4-3 on penalties)
Andy Watkins’ double brought up his half-century of goals for Bath City, but it wasn’t enough as Weston got the better of the Romans for the third time this season, holding their nerve from the penalty spot to progress to the Somerset Premier Cup Final, where they’ll face Paulton Rovers on May 8. Both teams opted for strong line-ups and played some neat football in the opening exchanges with few goalscoring opportunities. Weston made one of theirs count seven minutes before the interval, despite a hint of offside in the build-up when Jarrad Welch received the ball on the right. With City stretched, he squared it to Jake Lee, who swept home from close range. It was Lee’s first goal in Weston colours since he netted in the 4-2 win over Bath 11 weeks’ previous.
Antoine Semenyo, back from suspension, forced stand-in keeper Liam Kingston into a smart save soon after the break, but the Seagulls stopper was powerless to prevent a leveller just past the hour. Again, there was a shout for offside as Semenyo slipped through Watkins, who calmly dinked the ball past the grounded keeper. He notched another with a similar finish soon after to turn the tie on its head, as Bath threatened to add to the scoreline with Kingston producing a tremendous save from Opi Edwards, before nearly being embarrassed as Jack Batten’s attempted lob from the halfway line bounced over the keeper before hitting the post. The hosts found themselves on level terms when Welch swivelled inside the area and, with his back to goal, fired past Southwood. Neither side could find another and, with both managers agreeing to forego extra-time, referee Matt Eva, after some consultation, agreed to take the tie straight to a penalty shootout.
Matt Richards and Semenyo scored theirs for City with Welch and Ash Kington following suit. Tom Smith took City’s third but saw his effort crash off the underside of the bar. Former Roman Danny Greenslade put the home side 3-2 up before Jack Compton, ex-Weston, levelled. Jason Pope stepped up for Weston’s fourth, but was denied by a stunning save from Southwood, who tipped his spot-kick on to the post. Bath’s joy was short-lived as Kingston matched Southwood’s heroics, blocking Anthony Straker’s powerful effort, allowing Lee to calmly stroke home Weston’s fifth and send them through.
City’s Line-Up: Southwood, Welch-Hayes, Straker (c), Richards, Amankwaah (G Rigg 53), Batten, Edwards, Smith, Semenyo, Watkins, Compton. Subs not used: Ollis, Morton, Buck, Hodges.
Att: tbc
Scorers: City – Watkins (63, 69); Weston – Lee (38), Welch (76)
City Bookings: Compton (57), Richards (82)
Officials: M Eva, B Lee, R Ganfield