Yeovil Town cruised to victory at a decaying Twerton Park in front of a meagre attendance scattered around the perimeters of a once feared battle ground.

The visitors did all they had to against a side from three rungs down the pyramid system and relishing visits from the likes of Dunstable Town, Histon and Banbury United as their staple diet, 'The Romans' condemed to life in the restructured Southern League.

Two different Yeovil sides were on display tonight, however it was three familiar names that appeared on the scoresheet, all of whom were Yeovil Town regulars from The Nationwide Conference championship winning side. Gavin WILLIAMS opened the scoring after thirty seven minutes when he planted a penalty kick down the throat of City goalkeeper Sam Bailey and into the centre of the goal only seconds after Chris Weale had saved a Bath spot kick by diving to his right following a handball by Colin Pluck after a slick Bath move that saw a well drilled cross illegally played.

Colin PLUCK made amends with an opportunist goal after forty one minutes as poor Bath City defending allowed him a free shot that deceived the already wrong footed Bailey. Kevin GALL added the third after seventy seven minutes when he broke away and with time on his side he placed the ball under the advancing goalkeepers legs and into the centre of the net. Needless to say Galls strike raised the biggest cheer of the night from the visiting supporters and the forward grew noticably in confidence adding a swagger to his game in the closing stages. This was the first time I had seen the trialist players, however if Yeovil can sign the so called Nicholas Myers I think they would have a player head and shoulders above most that have graced the green and white even in these heady times.

Bath City issued a four page programme for the game that was free with admission, priced at £6.00.

[NB: Thanks to Alan Hayes for providing the match statistics]

As expected, Gary Johnson produced a mixed line-up at Twerton tonight as he put out a genuine mix of experienced established stars with trialists and youth players.

Bath City had drawn 0-0 with Bristol Rovers last week and it seemed as though this would be heading the same way when the first 35 minutes or so lacked any genuine action.

Bath's main chance to score came from the penalty spot when the first of two contrasting penalties were awarded. Charlie Welch chested the ball inside his own penalty area but also allowed the ball to roll down his arm, with the referee judging that the ball control had been significant enough to point to the spot. Up stepped Steve Tweddle to take the kick, but Chris Weale guessed correctly, diving to the right and stopping the ball from sneaking into the corner of the net.

Whilst it was obvious to all why Bath got their penalty, the decision to award the Glovers a spot kick seemed a little more shrouded in mystery. Keize Ibe managed to get into a one-on-one with home keeper Paul Evans, rounded the keeper and was then grounded with many assuming that the ball had been taken cleanly by the keeper. Not so the match referee, and so up stepped Gavin WILLIAMS to show Bath how to take a spot kick and put Yeovil 1-0 up with 37 minutes gone. Two Bath players were carded for expressing their views on the situation.

Perhaps the Glovers might have been worrying about what Gary Johnson was going to say to them in the forthcoming half time break, or perhaps the goal inspired them, but they spent the rest of the half well on top with several good chances being created.

Four minutes after the penalty Yeovil doubled their lead from a corner. As the ball was whipped in, former Kidderminster Harriers striker John Williams attempted to clear, got his foot completely under the ball, and instead gifted Colin PLUCK a chance to drive the ball home from close range. 2-0 and suddenly that half time team talk didn't seem quite so daunting.

Nicolas 'Myers' tried a long-ranger that keeper Evans managed to save, whilst Keize Ibe also tried his luck from the edge of the box. Other than the penalty, Chris Weale had been a near spectator, with only one chance from John Williams at the other end to really test his abilities.

The second half saw a whole host of changes being made, with only Chris Weale and Keize Ibe surviving a half-time changeover. A new trialist appeared on the field - Hassan Azdani - who slotted into a right-sided central midfield position.

Like the first half, the game took a long long time to warm up, but the second half was worth seeing for one moment that had been waiting a very long time. Adam Lockwood slotted the ball through the centre of the park, unleashing Kevin GALL on a clean break. As the Bath keeper approached, Gally slotted the ball into the left hand corner, and his single clenched fist showed how much scoring meant to him. His team-mates rallied round him to recognise his first senior strike of 2004. Hopefully this will be the springboard he needs to move on.

Youth teamers Sam Croft and Dan Bulley were introduced as late second half substitutes for Smith and Ibe as the game turned into a training ground exercise. Gally demonstrated his joy at scoring by attempting a comical 'scorpion kick' at a cross that went in behind him ... missing the ball entirely!

Meanwhile for Bath, the second half saw their attacking presence diminished further with their best chance almost coming in the form of an own goal when a mix-up between a defender and the goalkeeper almost gifted Yeovil a goal.

A good work-out and more of a training match for Yeovil and a comfortable defensive performance, but that all important goal that Kevin Gall craved may be the most valuable thing to come out of tonight's game.

Badger

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