City reset to return to winning ways

Second half goals from Elliott Frear and Alex Fletcher saw City return to winning ways against Welling United at Twerton Park this afternoon. With manager Jerry Gill stating before the game that ‘the reset button had been hit’ it was a much improved City performance as they took the game to Welling from the opening whistle. Fletcher, Cody Cooke and Omar Holness all had half-chances snuffed out before Cooke’s 13th minute header was hooked off the line after Fletcher’s effort had come back off the bar. The game settled down after this hectic start but it was still City who looked the more likely to score, Cooke seeing two further efforts kept out and Fletcher delaying his cross having got clear down the right. Somehow it was still goalless at the break and chances continued to come and go for City into the second half, an unmarked Callum Wood heading wide three minutes after the restart. And on 64 minutes City finally went ahead when Frear’s low shot went through a crowd of players to find the corner of the net. The Wings had shown very little as an attacking threat up to this point but the goal appeared to wake them up. They had the ball in the net on 77 minutes but via a hand so the strike was ruled out. Tom Smith was denied a second for City by a great block with eight minutes left before Ryan Clarke had to be at his best to turn two long range efforts over the bar in quick succession. Then on 85 minutes a swift City break saw Smith pick out Fletcher and he curled a perfect shot over the despairing dive of Sims to make it 2-0. Wood had to clear a shot off the line moments later and City were denied a first league clean sheet since August when Penny headed home five minutes into stoppage time, but seconds later City could celebrate a deserved victory.