Next Match – Coalville Town (H)

Bath City play Coalville Town of the Southern League Premier Division Central this Saturday in the fourth round of the FA Trophy.

Coalville beat Walsall Wood 2-0 on Tuesday thanks to two late Ash Chambers goals to earn the honour of a trip to Twerton Park. That FA Trophy third round tie was originally due to be played at Walsall Wood on Saturday 9 December – the day City defeated Boreham Wood 1-0 to stake their place in the fourth round – but was called off due to bad weather.

The game was rescheduled for the following Tuesday, but was again called off as conditions had not improved. It was then pushed back to the Wednesday, but once again had to be postponed. FA rules then dictated that the game be played at Coalville – but given the wet weather we’ve had this winter, even this didn’t help. 

Coalville were due to host the rearranged tie on the Tuesday before last, but another waterlogged pitch put paid to that. The game was again quickly pushed back 24 hours, but once again to no avail. Last Tuesday’s match was the sixth attempt to get the teams finally onto the field and find a winner to face the Romans this Saturday! 

Before disposing of Walsall Wood, the Ravens beat Boston United on penalties in the second round, after being 4-2 down in the shoot-out. They had previously won 1-0 at Alvechurch in the first round and 3-1 at Royston Town in the third qualifying round. They are currently 10th out of 22 in their division.

But though they play one level below City, the Ravens will provide a stern test. They knocked Notts County out of the FA Cup last season and Chesterfield out of the FA Trophy. They were also unfortunate not to be promoted, finishing second behind Tamworth on goal difference before losing on penalties in the play-off semi-finals. They are currently 10th out of 22 in their division.

As we look forward to the match against Coalville, we should once again be mindful to thank our own ground staff for their sterling efforts in keeping matches on at Twerton Park over this wet, wet winter!

Admission prices will be reduced for this FA Trophy 4th Round tie, and you can save a further £1 on online advance tickets!