Salisbury FC were defeated in dominant fashion at the hands of Bath City at Twerton Park by two first-half finishes from the Romans. Match report by Dexter Allison.
Another much-needed result evaded the Whites after they became the victims of a one-sided affair from the first whistle.
Bath were keen to flex their muscles and make a statement against the opposition they aimed to overtake with a win.
The hosts starved Salisbury of any meaningful chances early on and made sure the forwards were unable to make the ball stick in the opposition's half, continuously recycling possession to threaten the Salisbury goal.
Despite the two sides being positioned just above the relegation zone coming into this fixture, it was the hosts that seemed more eager to establish an early lead, carrying this momentum until its conclusion.
Read more
- Whites unable to take consecutive victories as they fall to 1-0 defeat on the road
- Whites hold on to all three points at home in hard working night of heroics
- Whites suffer narrow defeat on the road at the hands of Maidstone United
A series of turnovers and desire to stay on the front foot epitomised the opening 45 minutes for the Romans, rarely failing to win the first and second balls in midfield as well as aerially dominating the Salisbury frontline.
And before the hundreds of travelling supporters knew it, Bath’s talismanic Windsor was able to open the scoring with a tap-in via a cut-back in the 14th minute, putting the Whites under the cosh immediately.
The hosts had an array of chances after the opener was converted, trying shots from distance to pair with their total control in possession, two of these keeping Buse’s gloves warm for the remainder of the half; the first attempt taking a wicked deflection.
As Salisbury struggled to fashion any chance at all, the hosts managed to double their lead just before the whistle was blown at half-time through another Windsor finish.
Despite making an attacking change at the break, Salisbury’s threat in front of goal failed to increase, apart from a snap-shot chance from Noah Coppin around the hour mark.
Bath continued to threaten the Salisbury net and put the final nail in the coffin of the tie, but the Whites started to play some of their best football of the entire game around the 80th minute, sustaining pressure in the Bath half.
And in the 89th minute, the half-time substitute Josh Hedges was played a nicely weighted through ball, managing to slide an attempt inches from the Bath keeper, but it was cleared off the line to prevent a potential late comeback from the Whites.
Salisbury now look ahead to their Boxing Day clash at the Ray Mac, where they face AFC Totton.
