City can’t turn dominant second half into home opener victory

Despite a dominant second half performance City had to settle for a point in their first home outing of the season this evening with a 1-1 draw against Plymouth Parkway.

Having scored seven goals on the Saturday the visitors understandably started confidently but having weathered this early pressure it was City who twice went close to opening the scoring. Enzio Boldewijn was the creator both times. A surging 15th minute run saw him set up Owen Windsor but his low shot was saved by Dearlng. Four minutes later he crossed for Jordan Tillson but Dearing was again equal to his diving header. And it was the Devon side who went ahead on 28 minutes when Williams fired home from the edge of the box. Rocked by this City struggled to get back into the game and Plymouth twice went close to increasing their lead before the interval.

However, the introduction of Sev Streczen for the second half turned the encounter firmly in City’s favour. Before he could impact the game though City levelled. Reuben Reid initially looked second best to a high ball forward on 49 minutes but he used his strength to hold off a defender before lashing a shot past Dearing from 10 yards. The match was now largely being played in the Plymouth half, with Streczen almost unplayable down the left flank. Several half chances came and went, although City did have an escape on 75 minutes when Scarff’s looping header hit the top of the bar. Six minutes later another great run by Streczen saw him curl a shot narrowly wide of the far post as City upped the tempo again. Then Keiran Parselle was denied by Dearing moments later. City also won a series of corners, with Dearing diverting one over the bar then Tomlinson seeing his effort cleared off the line. In the end, City couldn’t find a winning goal their performance deserved.