| A new year, a new hope? Not bloody likely. |
| Having had five days to contemplate the way in which they'd let slip a three goal lead against Halesowen, City travelled to Cirencester with the knowledge that horror shows of that type will only lead to tears at the end of April. |
| Like last year a large number of City fans made their way to the Corinium Stadium and also like last year there were no real facilities to protect the paying spectators from the elements. |
| One big change since our last visit has been the construction of a sports hall on one side of the ground. It's clear that the football team is subsidised by income from their catering arm and the fully booked arena but why they are allowed to provide members of the public with minimal facilities is unclear. No wonder they have the fourth lowest average attendance in the League. |
| Even Dunstable with a ground that many describe as crap can provide cover for several hundred people. For a new facility, the Corinium Stadium is a disgrace. |
| The bar was too crowded so this reporter found a quiet place outside to read the programme, with much of it either written by or about him! |
| Managed by ex-City boss Brian Hughes our county neighbours were highly fancied to go for glory this campaign although they have stuttered somewhat and will be disappointed with their current standing. They have a talented side which includes a number youngsters from local Football League sides and a couple from Cheltenham Town in striker Gareth Hopkins, midfielder Marc Richards and Micheal Jackson, Cha' mone. |
| Big money striker Scott Griffin had to make do with a place on the bench, whilst ex-City youth teamer Jody Bevan took his shirt. Griffin is rumoured to be believing the hype in himself whilst Bevan is a madman, have you seen how close together his eyes are? |
| In between the sticks is ex-Bath and Mangos player Mark Bryant although he looks more like a jockey than a goalkeeper. He replaced Paul Thompson, the orange blimp, who had joined Frome Town earlier in the season. |
| Of course, the big name that we all looked out for was Adam Howarth, the young defender who we'd signed from Bath City last year. He returned home in the summer with ambitions above what Gloucester City could offer and even earned a trial at League 'whatever' club Watford. |
| Nothing concrete was offered and eventually Adam found himself back at our level. With money put aside to resign the centre back for this season, he told City's management that he'd come back to Meadow Park as soon as he had somewhere local to live but tongues started to wag with the departure of his mate Adam Hemming to Ciren. Surprise, surprise, Howarth signed for Hughes' bunch and was labelled a 'barefaced liar' by some in the City camp. |
| Unfit and unable to force his way into the Cirencester team Howarth turned out for local side Hartpury College. Not saying that he's full of himself or owt but the ex-City defender spent most of his games engaging in conversation with opposition strikers with the words "Do you know who I am?" |
| City made just one unforced change from the Halesowen debacle with Keith Knight coming in for Lee Davis at left wing back, even though the youngster has been among the goals lately, whilst suspended player boss Chris Burns was replaced by Marvin Thompson. From a promising start Marvin his suffered recently and looks every bit as inexperienced as people might think. |
In horrible conditions City kicked off with the wind at their backs which mean't that the fans were treated to rain lashing their faces as they watched.
|
|
|
| Bryant, a keeper as small in stature as a Bryant home is in size can thank the referee for keeping a clean sheet. An awkwardly bouncing ball forward was met by a jump from Jimmy Cox as both the City striker and Ciren goalkeeper rose for the ball at the same time. The keeper dropped it and Addis fired home, but the ref said that Cox fouled the keeper and awarded a free kick. |
| Ciren had the ref last year and so it seemed, again this time around. |
| As you'd expect the wind was giving City a great advantage with the ball spending long periods in the Cirencester half, with dominance comes chances but they were falling to the wrong people. Jimmy Cox, who was tightly marked by Howarth fed a ball out to the left for Tom Webb but the shot was neither use nor ornament and the keeper claimed it easily. |
| Eager to continue his mission to unimpress, the man in black watched as Lee Smith collected the ball on the edge of the box, turned his man and made strides into the area where he was impeded and lost the ball. Smith thought it was a penalty, so did the City fans, but the ref didn't. |
| Being used to playing at such an exposed ground is worth an extra man to the Centurians and it almost paid off when a nice interchange of passes between Neil Arndale and Ben Fitch down the right totally bamboozled Marvin and the cross was very nearly turned in by either of the two attackers in the middle. Fortunately Neil Griffiths got a touch first to send it behind. |
| More pressure followed from the home team as again Fitch, the tall, wiry winger who burst onto the scene last season but has failed to deliver so far this seized upon a loose ball on the edge of the box. He fired in a shot on target but Chris Thompson bravely charged it down to kill the attack. |
| More controversy as Bryant failed to deal with a long pass into his box. He couldn't hold the ball and scrambled back to prevent it going out, but with Coxy for company he dived on it and with claims that he'd carried the ball over the line the ref inexplicably awarded a free kick to the home team. |
| However, we can count ourselves lucky not to have conceeded a penalty when Marvin looked to have given Fitch a good shove in the back as he rounded him in the box. Quite why it didn't warrant a spot kick is a welcome mystery. |
| After surviving that scare City pressed forward and a thunderbolt from Addis was too hot for Bryant to hold onto. Wilko slid into the box hoping to touch it in but saw his effort deflected out off a defender. The City man was amazed as the referee towered over him on the floor and awarded a goal kick. |
| Another shot from distance and Bryant still couldn't hold the ball, but Cox ran in and gave the keeper a nasty stare so the ref gave a free kick. |
| City's best chance came next when Daryl Addis cut in from the right hand side and put the ball on a plate for Jimmy, but a poor touch saw the immediate chance gone before it fell for Addis who shot high over the bar on the turn. |
| Another chance down the other end was from a corner kick when a header flew to the target but Bath did well to hold onto the ball. |
As the game drifted into half time the ref took center stage again when Thommo failed to control a pass from Marvin and the ball fell invitingly for Gareth Hopkins who was free but in an offside position. The linesman flagged and the ref gave a free kick even though the pass had come from a Tigers shirt. Great refereeing, this guy was worth the entrance fee alone!
|
|
|
| During the interval the lucky ones took refuge in the clubhouse but those less fortunate in the large crowd were left exposed thanks to Ciren's inferior facilities. If you ever want to see a grown up version of musical chairs, watch a local derby at the Corinium Stadium as everyone dashes for shelter! |
| Whether Cirencester had faced the same conditions in the first half is unknown but during the opening minutes of the second period the wind coming from behind us was incredibly strong. So strong that I'd say it was worse that the game at Evesham last season that was abandoned, so why wasn't this one? Just our bloody luck. |
| We probably thought that Ciren's pocket sized keeper Mark Bryant was awful due to the way that he kept goal like he was playing basketball but this time we'd see Matt bath tested to the full. The City man could only watch as a shot dipped towards the far corner, but it just cleared the crossbar. |
| There was very little to shout about from a City perspective as we struggled to find either Cox or Addis' feet in the windy conditions. Matters were made worse when Lee Smith overhit the ball on one of his runs and came off second best in a fifty/fifty tackle with the defender. He hobbled off aided by Ade Tandy and was replaced straight away by Lee Davis. |
| Our change was quickly followed by one for Ciren, with wonderboy Griffin coming on for Jody Bevan. The latter had once trained with City following his release from Weston Super Mare but was shown the door when he asked for almost four hundred pounds per game to sign. |
| Bath was City's most active player as Ciren seemed to toy with the Tigers. He was called into action at his far post to keep out a shot from a corner. |
| Lee Davis had only been on for a few minutes and it's hard to say whether he'd actually touched the ball when he was booked for a rash challenge, although fans closer to the incident described it as harsh. The free kick was taken by the impressive Darren Robison but easily cleared back to him where he lashed a shot that Bath could only get a hand to and not keep out. |
| It became apparent that a single goal defeat would be the best that we could hope for as we just couldn't get the ball out of our own half with any conviction. When we did it was usually lofted high and carried by the wind either out for a throw or to the ineffective Tom Webb. |
| We did force a corner but Ciren were just too well organised at the back to let a set piece cause any concern. If a goal was coming it would be in Bath's goal, although he would want to concede another, especially as badly as the one he'd already let in. He reacted well to keep out another Robison drive that had hit Wilko in the wall and looped up before dropping towards the target. |
| Another booking for City, this time for the hard working Neil Mustoe. The City captain had lost the ball as he strode forward and stuck a leg out to trip his opponent in an exasperated gesture. |
| More changes followed, one for each team, promising youngster Jamie Reid replaced Keith Knight who'd run out of options and for Ciren Marc Richards came on for Micheal Jackson, he he. |
| The points were in the bag and the City fans wished they were in the clubhouse or at home in front of the fire, but enough time remained for Reid to impress and his youth team colleague Eddie Rimmer to replace Wilko. |
| This was dire, a stretched and lethargic looking City side who had no idea how to break down a well organised defence. With four months to go, on todays evidence it looks as though we'll struggle to avoid being sucked into the relegation places. At least we'll have something to play for! |
|
| Tiger Roar Man of the Match - Neil Mustoe |
|
Neil Mustoe
Star Man |
Again Mustoe picks up the award for his hard working display in the middle of a team that looked as though they'd rather be at home in front of the fire.
|
|
|
