Non-League Day offer for Football and Rugby fans (31/8/16)
This coming Saturday 3rd September is the international weekend with no Championship games and a limited League One programme. Bath City FC are making a special offer to Bristol City and Bristol Rovers season ticket holders. This is also NON-LEAGUE DAY, so as fans of both Bristol clubs will have no football to watch this weekend they can come along to Twerton Park and see Bath City v Whitehawk (a team from Brighton) for a special price. Bristol City and Bristol Rovers season ticket holders just need to present their season ticket at the turnstiles and they will gain entry for just £7.
This special offer is also extended to Bath Rugby Club season ticket holders and, with their opening fixture away to Northampton Saints, it is hoped that many Bath Rugby fans will take this opportunity to visit Twerton Park this Saturday. Again, Bath Rugby Club season ticket holders just need to present their season ticket at the turnstile to gain entry for £7.
Wasteful City suffer late Poole defeat (29/8/16)
City became the fourth side to suffer a 1-0 defeat at Poole Town this season when a rare on target effort from the home side found the net with just two minutes left on the clock. They only have themselves to blame though as they should have been comfortably ahead long before Walker’s speculative 20-yard shot beat Max O’Leary’s despairing dive. City controlled the opening half hour, Stuart Fleetwood tamely shooting straight at substitute keeper Rees after Naby Diallo pass had sent him clear, they Diallo himself seeing a header come back off the inside of the post before Rees clawed it away from goal. The Dolphins looked to get the ball foward quickly to tricky winger Burbidge at every opportunity but Manny Monthe and Chas Hemmings dealt well with the direct approach. The second half continued in a similar pattern, Diallo somehow heading Andy Watkins’ great cross over from close range, Rees tipping another Watkins centre over the bar then Josh Hutchinson seeing his shot charged down. When Rees misjudged the bounce on a long ball foward but just managed to recover and deny Fleetwood a tap-in it looked as if City would have to settle for a point. However, even this was denied them when Walker stuck and despite a couple of threatening free-kicks after this they could recover from the late blow.
Diallo and Morgan keep City on winning run (27/8/16)
First half goals from Naby Diallo and Marvin Morgan fired City to victory against East Thurrock United this afternoon at Twerton Park. The visitors pulled a goal back in stoppage time but couldn’t deny City a fourth successive win that lifted them up to 5th place in the Vanarama National League South table. The Romans got off to the perfect start when, on just three minutes, good work by Shaquille Hunter set up Naby Diallo to fire a stunning 25-yard shot into the top corner. On a hot and humid afternoon the game rarely got above pedestrian pace but with six minutes left in the half Diallo turned provider, sending Morgan clear to lift the ball over keeper Lidakevicius into the net. Dan Bowman and Nick McCootie saw chances come and go early in the second half but slowly East Thurrock began to push City back. However, teenage keeper Max O’Leary dealt confidently with a number of crosses and also saw Dan Ball produce a great last ditch tackle after Honesty had skipped round the debutant no.1. Ball then burst foward with time almost up only for Lidakevicius to save his low shot and moments later Harris turned the ball home from close range to make it 2-1. Four minutes of stoppage time passed without any major scares to set City up for a trip to another in-form side, Poole Town, on Bank Holiday Monday (ko 3pm).
O’Leary joins on loan from Bristol City (26/8/16)
City have signed goalkeeper Max O’Leary on loan until January from Bristol City. The Bath-born 19-year old has been registered with the National League and the club now awaits clearance from the FA. O’Leary has made two appearances for the Robins, both in the FA Cup, and also played five games for Kidderminster Harriers whilst on loan toward the end of last season.
Bath City Board Statement (22/8/16)
Further to the recent announcement by the Bath City Bid team, the Board of Bath City Football Club Limited would like to make the following statement regarding the future of the Club.
We are delighted to announce that following lengthy and amicable discussions, agreement has been reached between the majority shareholders and the Supporters Society to create a pathway towards Bath City becoming a Community Benefit Society (CBS). Both parties have signed up to a Heads of Terms document that will provide the framework for this to happen.
This has been a complicated procedure, as assurances were required on funding, both for the day to day running of the Club and ultimately repayment of loans owed by the Club. At the same time the Supporters Society required a commitment from the majority shareholders to relinquish the majority shareholding held within the Board.
The Society have acquired financial support outside of the Bid process to provide working capital during this interim period. This finance has been the catalyst in providing the majority shareholders with the confidence they required.
Subject to shareholder approval, the Club will increase its share capital with the new shares being acquired by the Society, so that with its existing shareholding and some shares presently held by the majority shareholders, it will have a shareholding of over 50%. The current majority shareholders will retain a 25% shareholding for an interim period, while a new Board oversees the redevelopment of Twerton Park, negotiations for which have been ongoing for nearly 12 months and is key in the overall plan to provide both a modernised stadium, and funding to repay loans. We appreciate that shareholders and supporters will have questions regarding the agreement, and the detail therein, and we will endeavour to answer all of these at the appropriate time.
For this to happen it now requires the forthcoming re-launch of the Bid to be a success. Therefore we urge all supporters, and the Bath population as a whole, to “Back the Bid”, and make this historic agreement become a reality. We firmly believe that this proposal provides the very best opportunity for Bath City Football Club to prosper in the future, and finally achieve its long held dream of Football League status.
Diallo nabs Stortford winning strike (20/8/16)
A Naby Diallo goal five minutes into the second half was enough to send City to a third successive league win at Bishop’s Stortford this afternoon. He latched on to Marvin Morgan’s pass before firing home from 12 yards for his first goal for the club. City suffered a blow within a minute of kick off when Andy Watkins pulled up with a groin injury and both sides struggled to come to terms with the strong wind blowing across Woodside Park during the opening 45 minutes. City had looked to possess the greater threat going forward but failed to create any clear cut chances and Stortford almost grabbed the lead just before the interval with a low shot that flashed inches past the post. Diallo then struck but City couldn’t find a vital second goal despite several further promising attacks. The hosts began to commit more men forward as the half progressed but found City’s defence in excellent form, in particular the outstanding Manny Monthe, and there were few nervous moments before the final whistle signalled a second hard fought away win of the week.
U18s begin FA Youth Cup with local clash (17/8/16)
City’s U18 side begin their FA Youth Cup campaign in the extra-preliminary round with a short trip to Odd Down on Thursday 8 September (ko 7.45pm).
City enjoy successful Cornwall trip (16/8/16)
City made it back to back Vanarama National League South victories with a 3-1 win at Truro City this evening. All the goals came in a exciting second half with Marvin Morgan, Billy Murphy and Shaquille Hunter on target for the Romans. The first half had been as forgettable as the second was eventful, although City appeared to have scored late in the half only for the assistant referee to rule that the ball hadn’t crossed the line. There was no disputing City’s opening goal on 54 minutes, Morgan breaking clear before beating Basso at his near post. Morgan had wasted a similar chance moments earlier and City spurned a number of further openings to put the game beyond the home side. They were almost punished for this with around 20 minutes left when Steve Phillips tipped a header onto the bar. Then in the 81st minute Andy Watkins was fouled just inside the box and Murphy sent Basso the wrong way from the spot. However, the White Tigers were not finished and on 87 minutes made it 2-1 when Brett found the net. Moments later an almightly goalmouth scramble almost ended with Truro levelling but City somehow kept the ball out and a minute later a great run and finish by Hunter secured the win.
City off the mark with 3-0 St Albans win (13/8/16)
It was third time lucky for City this afternoon as they got their season up and running with a comfortable 3-0 win over ten-man St Albans City at a warm and sunny Twerton Park, thanks to goals from Chas Hemmings, Manny Monthe and Stuart Fleetwood. The visitors arrived having picked up four points from their opening two games but only ever threatened through Chappell’s long throws. Morias hooked a shot narrowly over from one then Johnson looped a header onto the bar and Theophanous saw his follow up effort cleared off the line by Hemmings. After these two scares City began to deal more confidently with this danger, although the Saints continued to rely on it, and on 34 minutes a set-piece of their own led to the first goal. Billy Murphy’s corner picked out Hemmings and his header was directed just inside the post. The second half started evenly but on 63 minutes St Albans were reduced to ten men when Herd tugged Andy Watkins back to earn a second booking. And within two minutes City made their man advantage count when Monthe headed Murphy’s free-kick into the net. City were in full control now against a team who had failed to score a single goal in their previous five visits to Twerton Park and had gone close on a couple of occasions before Dan Bowman burst forward to cross for Fleetwood to tap the ball home and complete the scoring with ten minutes left.
Weston send City crashing to home defeat (9/8/16)
City came within a remarkable refereeing decision of recording another famous comeback against Weston Super Mare this evening as they opened their home campaign with a 2-1 defeat to the Seagulls. A first half brace from McClousky had put the visitors in control of the game before relentless second half pressure from City finally told through Marvin Morgan’s 81st minute header. And when five minutes later Andy Watkins was sent crashing to the ground in the box under a wild challenge by McClennan it looked like they would have the chance to level the game from 12 yards. However, referee Mr Lymer had other ideas, not only failing to award a penalty but, incredibly, booking the City no.11 for diving. In truth, City only have themselves to blame for the result having twice gifted Weston goals in the first half. There was a sign of things to come when within seconds of the opening kick-off McClousky was given a clear sight of goal only for Steve Phillips to deflect his shot wide. He could do nothing to deny the striker on seven minutes though when he raced clear before slotting the ball into the net. And 22 minutes later he again clear on goal, this time lifting his shot over Phillips to make it 2-0. City had enjoyed much of the first half possession but too often the final pass or cross was poor. This pattern continued after the break, with Weston now content to sit deep and try to catch City on the break. Tellingly the closest they came to pulling a goal back before Morgan struck was when Fortune almost headed into his own net. Finally George Rigg’s pinpoint cross gave Morgan the chance to head home with nine minutes left but that was as good as it got for City.
Late goal sends City to opening day defeat (6/8/16)
City got their 2016-17 Vanarama National League South season off to a disappointing start this afternoon with a 1-0 defeat at Margate. The deciding goal came from Osborn’s well-struck 89th minute shot with the game looking set to end level, which would have been a fair result. Both teams had created a number of openings during the first half, City’s best falling to Naby Diallo when he got clear on goal only to drag his shot wide. They went even closer midway through the second half when Nick McCootie fired against the crossbar from Andy Watkins’ cross. Great last ditch tackles from Chas Hemmings and Manny Monthe had denied the hosts either side of the interval and when Steve Phillips produced the save of the game in the closing ten minutes it appeared the sides would claim a deserved point apiece. However, when Osborn was given too much space to drift across the edge of the box he took full advantage with a low shot into the corner of the net. There was still time for Hemmings to blast a great chance high over the bar and Monthe to get closed down as he was set to shoot, leaving City with a long journey back home to reflect on what might have been.
Diallo signing adds another piece to jigsaw (3/8/16)
City are pleased to annouce that Naby Diallo has signed a deal for the 2016-17 season. This will be the 25-year old midfielder second spell at Twerton Park, having spent the second half of the 2014-15 season with the club.