| "Christmas Time, Mangotsfield and whine..." |
| City welcomed their neighbours from the southern part of the county for this high noon Boxing Day Derby. Mangotsfield had already dealt our campaign a severe blow as far back as August when they took their chances to earn a 2-3 victory in Bristol. Today was a perfect opportunity to put the record straight. |
| The away team were well represented and hidden among the travelling contingent was Mango's superfan Danny West and also the lookalike who did so much to taint the name of his club upon my last visit to their place. West didn't make himself known, although there was a guy wandering around asking people if they were Carling or Stella! |
| Chris Burns' team selection had been complicated thanks to a cut eye that Chris Thompson had received away from football, the gaffer himself came back in as well as the free from suspension Lee Jeffries. On the bench were five players with an average age of seventeen, those included Lee Davis and Marvin Thompson, two young pro's borrowed from Cheltenham Town. |
| For Mangotsfield, dangerous strikers Dave Seal and Darren Edwards started and teenage prodigy Jack Pitcher had to make do with a place on the bench. Sat alongside him was ex-City legend Gary Kemp. |
The three points taken off of us at Cossham Street was only one of six wins for them this season. The frustration felt by the club after a decent finish last year and consequent failure this time around had caused the dismissal of management duo Andy Black and Shaun Penny at the start of the month, so now new boss Martin Grimshaw, a former Forest Green and Moreton Town striker was keen to see his new team climb up the table. Last week the Mango's had beaten Halesowen 4-0 so today wasn't going to be easy.
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| Experienced defender Jason Drysdale, not enjoying a great campaign and subsequently placed on the transfer list mistakenly allowed a high ball to bounce and Dave Wilkinson nipped in to test Danny Greaves in the Mango's goal. City fans could be forgiven for thinking that Greaves was a familiar face as he had kept goal for them at Cossham Street in when he let in two goals. Then he made the switch to the Hand Stadium where he conceeded another brace as we beat 2-0 and today he let in another couple! |
| If Wilko didn't have any luck on his route to goal it was because it was in abundance at the other end as Mangotsfield took a shock lead. Some nice passing and one-two's on the edge of the box saw the ball out wide and a cross that took a heavy deflection to wrongfoot the City defence, the ball fell nicely to the unmarked Darren Edwards and the prolific marksman made no mistake from six yards out. The constant grumbling paused for a moment as the travelling Mangotsfield contingent cheered. |
| City's reply could've been instant as Tom Webb made space for a left wing cross, but the shot from Andy Hoskins was bravely blocked by the defender. Hosky continued to probe and tried to weave his way through two defenders from the wing but found his way blocked by the second one, it looked as though the City man had run into a wall but strangely the referee blew up, awarded a free kick to the opposition and booked Hoskins. |
| The Tigers should've equalised a minute later when the slightest tug on Jimmy Cox denied him a shot but the ref was on hand to point to the spot. Hosky never looks the most assured of penalty takers and on this occasion didn't add to his near goal-a-game tally as Greaves dived low to his right to make a comfortable save. In the bar after the game the City man made no excuses and was overheard saying that his attempt was 'shite'! |
| However, it wasn't long before the scoreline was evened up as Wilko bagged his ninth goal of the season. A cross from Webb to Hoskins left the Mangotsfield defenders claiming that the City man had controlled the ball with his hand, in the meantime City's midfield goal machine had calmly strolled in and shown great composure to slot the ball into the far corner. |
At this stage the game was quite open and goalscorer Edwards galloped down the right wing and sent in an inviting cross, although there wasn't a claret shirt in the box and the ball flew straight across the face of goal. They had another chance when a Drysdale free kick took a big deflection, although the block took enough pace off the shot to cause Matt Bath little concern.
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| The referee reached for his pocket again as Lee Smith was scythed down, the name and number that went in the book was 'eleven' and 'Danny Haines'. He was swiftly followed by City's own Lee Jeffries after the former Clevedon man had slid in from behind on former Bristol City striker David Seal. Although Jethro hadn't made contact with the Aussie the referee deemed it dangerous enough to warrant a caution. |
| City fans were calling for a foul as Jimmy Cox but was denied by a by former Bath City defender Scott Hendy. What happened next though was far from perfect as Mangotsfield's Gareth Loydon sent Wilko flying with a crude late tackle, he was rightly cautioned. |
| Back to the football and Seal slid in at the far post to get a touch on a cross, Bath did well to block it as he dived bravely at the antipodean striker's feet. Neil Mustoe then tried his luck from outside the box after the ball fell to him following a bout of penalty box ping-pong, sadly though the City man's attempt was more of a backpass than a shot. |
| Coxy may have really given our West Country friends something to grumble about as he got on the end of a Hosky flick on but shot hopelessly wide. This came after the City target man was easily offside as the ball was played upfield to him. The last act of the first period was a race between Matt Bath and Edwards for a long ball, with the Tigers' keeper winning and belting the ball into next week to clear the danger. |
| The Mangotsfield fans may have been happy with the outcome at the interval but maybe their new manager wasn't as the Cossham Street side came out and attacked as if they'd just been bollocked. Their wide man was left in acres of space giving him time to execute a perfect low pass for a shot that was destined for the goal only for Jethro to block it on the floor. They continued to press and a perfectly timed tackle by Neil Mustoe prevented Adam Sims from getting a clear shot in. |
It was City's turn to attack now and a series of corners eventually came to nothing, but it wasn't for the want of trying. Chris Burns headed one over the bar, another was cleared off the line with Wilko ready to pounce but the most controversial ended with City's number eleven netting only to see it ruled out for a foul on the keeper. It didn't matter to the referee though that the foul had been comitted by his own defender!
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| With the wind at his back, Greaves' drop kick carried a long way and caused confusion in the City defence, however Matt Bath was on hand to clear things up as he raced off his line to head the ball clear from the Mango's attacker. At the other end Smith fed Wilko with an inviting ball but Greaves got down well to deny the City midfielder. |
| It wasn't all bad luck in front of goal though as Jimmy Cox showed that he may not be the most prolific goalscorer but he's second to none when it comes to making them for his team mates. Put through on the left wing by Webby, Cox raced past the full back and his low cross was akin to putting it on a plate for Lee Smith to fire City into the lead from three yards out. |
| As Mangotsfield began to look for a way back into the game after seeing their lead overturned, Neil Mustoe became the third City man to see yellow. It was a strange booking really as Neil Griffiths slid in to tackle his opponent and got the ball, yet the ref awarded a free kick against the City captain. Mustoe was booked for complaining about the referee's continued ineptitude. |
| With twenty minutes remaining Mangotsfield's highly rated striker Jack Pitcher came off the bench, although on this showing many fans would wonder why he hadn't started instead of the under worked Seal. He first action saw him easily skip past Webb before heading down the line and sending in a cross to the far post that had to be headed behind by Neil Griffiths. |
| City seemed to have an attack of the nerves as the introduction of Pitcher really gave the Mango's a pick me up. From the corner Matt Bath wrongly chose to come for the cross and could only get a weak hand to the set piece some way past his far post. The ball was returned into the box and Mustoe had to be alert to head over his own bar. |
It wasn't long though before Mangotsfield got the second goal that their performance deserved. Time was running out for Keith Knight and he dived in for a tired tackle on Pitcher but the substitute who was almost half his age had nipped the ball away, so Knight clattered the man. The City midfielder was booked and then promptly replaced with Cheltenham youngster Lee Davis. Sadly though, the free kick given away in a safe position led to a goal as the long set piece was headed in by centre-half Mark Summers.
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| The man in black continued to frustrate City when he allowed play to continue whilst Mangotsfield attacked, despite Dave Wilkinson lying injured on the floor. However, as soon as City countered he blew up for treatment, Chris Burns almost blew up himself in frustration. It was the end of Wilko's afternoon as he was replaced by the other Robins trainee, Marvin Thompson. |
| Andy Hoskins, having a quiet game in front of goal could've easily seen red when he used his arm to flick on a long ball, but having already been booked earlier in the game the referee was lenient and only awarded a free kick. |
| With only a few minutes remaining Davis, a diminutive striker, could've netted all three points for City when his speculative shot from distance caught Greaves unaware and bounced in front of him. The keeper did well to block the shot but City will rue not having a player in attendance as no-one seized on the loose ball on the penalty spot. |
| Moments later Neil Griffiths might've scored only his second goal of the season but shot wide when he really ought've hit the target. In the last minute Karl Palmer replaced Lee Smith who'd been unable to recover from the knock taken when he'd been hacked at by a Mangotsfield defender. |
| The ref blew for a frustrating draw and it would've been the away team who were happier with the point. The two points dropped mean that City drop a place to eighth and will drop another place if Ciren win their game in hand. |
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