| Having put one title challenger to the sword seven days earlier this afternoon Chippenham proved a tougher nut to crack as they completed the double over the Tigers and cleared up any doubt where the Championship Shield would be at the end of April. Possibly. |
| In August last year City had raced down to Hardenhuish Park and raced into a two goal lead before running out of steam, ideas and luck to succumb to a Scott Walker volley and return to Gloucester pointless. |
| Walker was missing from the Chippenham starting eleven this afternoon and named among the substitutes but there was a fella who looked remarkably like him not even dressed for action so I doubt he would've played even if his number had been raised. Another familiar face sat on the bench was that of Wayne Thorne, the untalented one out of him and his brother Gary, who was a rock at the heart of the Chipps defence. |
| But the one name that would've gotten tongues wagging was Sam Bailey, who should've been in jail after his recent violent attack on City's Lee Smith. Having been shown the door by his previous club Bath City the young defender was snapped up by their rivals from down the A4. Whoever said cheats and thugs don't prosper eh? |
Having seen off Histon last Saturday and despite having Lyndon Tompkins back from suspension Chris Burns chose to keep the same starting eleven. That mean't another game for Adie Harris and a chance to impress folks who probably used to watch him at Trowbridge a decade earlier.
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| Maybe it was more luck than judgement but I found it amusing that the Style Council's "Walls come tumbling down" was played on the tannoy before the game. You might remember that during the first local derby at Hardenhuish against Bath City a few years ago as the away fans celebrated a goal the perimeter gave way and several supporters fell onto the pitch in a very small scale repeat of the Heysel Stadium disaster. |
| But that was history and today started without too much incident other than former Cirencester striker James Constable getting a little too excited too quickly and talking his way into a booking. |
| Dave Wilkinson had half a chance to put the Tigers in front when Mark Hervin dropped Mustoe's corner but the ball fell behind the City player and he could only hook it wide of the post. Although with neither side having really given any cause for concern to the opponents goalkeeper it was quite a surprise when Chippenham got their noses in front. |
| Neil Griffiths was penalised when he jumped too early and ended up hitching a piggyback from Constable. From the free kick that followed Gary Thorne hammered a low shot into the wall and the ball was deflected out wide to a blue shirt whose cross cum shot was tapped in by hotshot striker Dave Gilroy with the City defence looking for an offside flag that never came. |
| The Tigers responded as you would expect and joint top scorer Wilkinson was unlucky to see his header go the wrong side of the post when he nipped in in front of Hervin to be first to a corner. |
the linesman at work on monday |
| City were pressing forward but were struggling to penetrate a well organised Chippenham defence and when they did they were either defeated by the likes of Rene Regis who was simply obstructing his opponents from getting the ball by blocking their path with his body or penalised by the referee when they finally found a way around the Hullavington based soldier. |
| Regis was lucky to escape without a booking when he was beaten by Chris Thompson's guile along the left touchline. His crude attempt at a tackle sent the City man to the floor and from the free kick Neil Mustoe forced a good save from Hervin after a one-two with Addis on the edge of the box. |
| Sam Jones was having fun out wide and twisting and turning his way among the City players but Wilko brought an end to his showboating with a tackle no worse that Regis' yet good enough to earn a caution. From the free kick that followed Gary Thorne jumped surprisingly high to head the ball onto the top of the bar and over. He was never that useful for us! |
| Matthew McEntegart picked up the second yellow card for the league leaders when he was adjudged to have fouled Lee Smith with a tackle from behind although it looked as though he might've got the ball, a point which he argued to the referee as he took his name. |
Adie Harris was the surprising option as the recipient of a short free kick in the middle of midfield and the clever move almost paid off as he found Addis who held the ball up and shot only to see it blocked to Griff who hooked it wide.
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| But the next attack really should've brought the equaliser when Daryl Addis beat the offside wide on the right, although the linesman raised his flag and everyone stopped but the ref waved play on and the City striker whipped in a low cross to Thommo who scuffed a shot towards the corner flag when he could see the whites of Hervin's eyes. |
| There was a surprising lack of atmosphere considering that this was a local derby but there were a handful of visiting fans making some noise, although the best they could manage came from one knuckleheaded fan who started to chant that the City end was full of shit. Not very nice really and surprising considering how sensitive this bunch were when our fans started to sing "Who let the dogs out" during that FA Cup match five years ago! |
| The half ended with more frustration as the Chipps defence blocked out everything that City could throw at them. |
| Attacking the T-End for the second period City started well with a rare effort from outside the box by Neil Mustoe but like most things that went before it a Chippenham bodypart got between the ball and it's intended target. |
The ball had actually hit Regis with such force that he was grounded and required treatment but with City still in possession the referee played a sensible advantage and continued. Webby fed Addis and a quick turn saw the ball presented for Wilko who somehow managed to deflect a shot off himself and the ball went out for a goalkick even though most of the City fans were screaming for a corner.
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| City continued to press and another shot from Mustoe was heading wide before Wilko stuck out a leg to deflect it slightly less wide. But for all of the pressure it took one mistake and Chippenham had doubled their advantage. |
| Tom Webb was caught dwelling on the ball near the halfway line and with shouts of offside and handball both being waved away Constable beat Bath to arrest any hopes of a City comeback. Chris Burns complained long and hard but like usual it got him nothing other than a yellow card. |
| "I wonder why they're top" came from the T-End. |
| Following another blocked shot Mark Badman broke away but found his progress halted illegally by Mustoe, who became the third City player to be carded. That was the seventh caution in his last eleven games and added to the prospect of a three match ban for punching Sam Bailey after the Bath game he may well be banned for the start of next season. |
| Then with a quarter of the game remaining Steve White (the Chippenham boss, not the City fan) played his trump card by bringing the violent thug Bailey on for Ben Kirk. The shouts of "Scum, Scum, Scum" arose from the T-End along with more amusing ones like "Sam Bailey, Old Bailey more like". |
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| But there was a football match on and Chippenham almost reminded us in the most expensive way when they broke away and good work by Constable saw him turn and force a good save from the City keeper. In fact I think it was the only time that Matt got the better of the Bluebirds so it only goes to prove once and for all that Chippenham are better than Bath! |
| Andy Varnham was thrown on for Adie Harris in an attempt to add some presence up front but the nineteen year old was given a rough ride by former Tiger Gary Thorne in a tough introduction to Southern League football. |
| The Tigers continued to probe though and a lovely weighted pass through the channel by Addis found Tom Webb but his low cross was cut out as Dave Wilkinson marauded around the penalty spot. |
| City finally got the goal that they deserved when Wilko timed his run through the Chippenham defence to connect with Mustoe's free kick. Hervin pulled off a great save from his header and the ball looped up for the City man to touch home the rebound. But as the T-End started to celebrate heads turned to the left to see the linesman grinning with his flag aloft. |
Poor old Eddie, a City fan stood behind me on the T-End was getting so wound up that I thought he'd go off like a balloon that you inflate and then let go before tying the end off. We could all feel his frustration though.
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| Whether the referee thought that City were trying to capitalise on their bad luck by winning a soft penalty is not known but how he failed to point to the spot after Lee Smith was bundled over by Regis is a mystery. If it was fair play then the beautiful game is the only loser as Chippenham's idea of defending is more suited to the WWE than it is to football. |
| Another couple of chances only served to compound City's misery as Chris Thompson shook off his man on the edge of the box with a clever shimmy before seeing his shot deflected wide and from the corner Addis stooped to head against the bar and away for a goal kick. |
| The two sides may not have been level on chances or goals but it was even steven on bookings when Sam Jones earned himself a yellow card for sticking his foot out in front of Mustoe's quickly taken free kick. Goalkeeper Hervin then got a talking to from the ref for his time wasting by opting to take each goal kick from the furthest point from where he'd retrieved the ball. |
| When the former City mercenary finally went to take the goal kick he hastily dug a mound to place the ball on and a voice from the crowd shouted that he obviously wasn't a builder, but a quick look in the programme would've revealed that he was in fact a .... Yeehaw! |
| Amazingly with the game now in injury time Chippenham went up the other end and scored again. Constable did well to keep the ball in play from a throw and lofted it to the far post where Gilroy beat Bath in a race to slot the ball home. It was unbelievable how such a one sided game had ended so emphatically against City. |
| A wiser man than me counted that Hervin had taken sixteen goal kicks in the second half whilst Matt Bath took none. Now that's the kind of statistic that would suggest that we'd absolutely hammered Chippenham so you can imagine how deflated we felt as we left Meadow Park. |
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| Tiger Roar Man of the Match - Daryl Addis |
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Daryl Addis
Star Man |
Tried his best all afternoon without any luck whatsoever. Despite having Lee Smith for a partner he often found himself ploughing a lone furrow as Smithy reverted back to his usual wing back position.
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