Next Match – Concord Rangers – Away

City make the first of three trips to Essex on Saturday when they meet Concord Rangers at the Aspect Arena.

The Beach Boys had made a pleasing start to the season with six points gained from their first two matches but only two more have been collected from the next nine.  This poor run leaves them in 22nd position with a home record of one win, two draws and three defeats. Their indifferent August and September was compounded by an early elimination from the FA Cup at Berkhamsted Town of the Southern League Central League.

A very familiar face could be lining up for Concord on Saturday as they signed Ricky Modeste from Tonbridge during the Summer, making them the sixth National League South club which the former Grenada international has appeared for!

Last season the Essex club finished in 14th place. An inconsistent start, a barren spell, then an upturn in form in the Spring kept the Beach Boys out of trouble. Home form was key with the best record of the teams outside the top seven, however only Welling United had a worse defence and away record.

The points were shared in our two meetings with the home teams coming out on top. We welcomed Concord to Twerton for our Community Day in November when a late strike from Cody Cooke earnt a narrow 2-1 victory. An Alex Fletcher penalty back in April on Canvey Island looked to have secured City a valuable point but they were undone by two late goals from Nana Kyei. However that proved to be their last defeat as they finished the campaign with eleven points from the remaining five games.

We have been regular visitors to Concord since the first fixture in 2014 and have recorded five victories in the nine league matches played. The most memorable came seven seasons ago when Andy Watkins, Chas Hemmings, Axel Andresson and Shawn McCoulsky all found the net in a thumping 5-0 win.

The Aspect Arena is situated on Canvey Island bordering the Thames Estuary and must be one of the few grounds where huge ships sail just yards behind the goal!

Admission prices and directions can be found at the Concord website.

The 170 mile drive from Bath will take around 4 hours, whilst the train journey from Bath Spa involves changes at Paddington and Liverpool Street.

For those supporters who are unable to make the trip, a reminder that they can follow all the action with Bath City Internet Radio.