Gill’s delight as his Romans down high-flying Dorking
Goals from Donovan Wilson and Tom Smith saw Bath City produce a shock win at highflying Dorking Wanderers, in their first outing in front of supporters this season.
Almost all of Meadowbank was stunned to silence as the Romans ended their six-game losing streak thanks to an excellent team performance, with Ryan Clarke producing a string of fine saves to keep the hosts at bay.
In a breathtaking finale, Isaac Philpott pulled one back for Dorking on 83 minutes, three minutes before Frankie Artus received his marching orders from the dugout as an unused substitute for timewasting.
Tom Mehew received a harsh second yellow in added time to join Artus in the changing rooms and Jake Gallagher thought he had netted a dramatic leveller from the resultant free-kick, but it was ruled out for handball.
City hung on much to the delight of boss Jerry Gill.
“That’s one of the best performances since I’ve been manager,” he declared. “We didn’t look like a team at the bottom of the league, we looked like a team at the top. That’s the biggest compliment I can pay to the players.
“They’ve taken in a lot of information this week and have carried out the game plan to an absolute tee. The players deserve a lot of credit, this was no smash and grab.
“Their performance kept 680 people quiet for nearly all the game.”
After Dorking had spurned several openings early on, Wilson’s opener on 35 minutes was his fourth goal in five starts since joining.
“I wish we had Donovan in the last couple of seasons,” said Gill. “I’m really pleased for him to score again. It was a great passing move which he finished off with real calmness.
“I’ve worked with him for a very long time. He wants to train hard, he does his own work away from the football club.
“I reckon he’ll be one of the best strikers in the league if we can keep him fit and maybe one of the best we’ve ever had at Bath City.”
Gill was also delighted for Smith netting his first goal of the campaign, but was miffed at the two players dismissed for his side, with Artus being red-carded from the dugout for kicking the ball away.
Tom Mehew was sent from the field for a second yellow in stoppage time leaving City down to 10 men. The City chief was confident Artus’ would be rescinded.
“Whether Frankie’s from the bench is a red or not I don’t know,” said Gill. “I’ll have to look at the laws. For Tom he’s trying to stop a cross, his hands are by his side. It’s a free-kick, not a yellow. We will appeal it if we can. We don’t want to lose players now, that’s for sure.”
For the first time this season, Gill and assistant Jim Rollo were granted access to attend an opposition match, allowing them to witness Dorking’s 2-2 draw with Maidstone on Tuesday.
“Tactically it allows me to see everything,” said Gill. “We can watch them on videos but we don’t see the whole picture. I pride myself on being tactically astute. We set up with a certain shape and pressed them high.
“We tried to cut the supply off to their wing-backs. Some of our passing moves in return were fantastic. We knew we’d have to defend well, which we did. Credit especially to James Taylor who we signed in the summer but picked up an injury and couldn’t play until now.
“Ryan and our back four did a terrific job.”
The win moved City off the bottom, replacing Braintree Town and Concord Rangers, who were both out of action.
“We said if we get a result here it could be a springboard,” said Gill. “We won’t get carried away but we know we’re a very good side.
“We’ve probably got a more talented group than we have in previous seasons, but we haven’t gelled. They’re starting to do that, it’s been difficult to build that team spirit as we couldn’t have our usual training camp and other things we do.
“Building that team spirit is massive, I’ve prided myself on helping build them at this club. The thing to take away now is belief and confidence.”
Smith’s goal was his first in 15 outings, and the perfect way to mark his 100th league appearance.
“The second goal was important,” said Smith, who notched it in the 71st minute with a low drive from 18 yards. “I had a chance just before which I didn’t hit quite right. Even with the goal I didn’t connect cleanly but I got a bit of luck. I’ll take that. Overall we played some good football. The defence was brilliant too. This could kick-start our season.”