Gill pleased with his side’s concentration during victory
Jerry Gill praised the concentration of his side as they overcame Tonbridge Angels on Saturday.
It’s the first time since 2015 that City have started a season with successive wins and this one was achieved following a lengthy holdup en route.
Gill admitted the preparation was not ideal with four of his players starting their journey from Devon at 5.45am.
“I never like it when kick-off has to be delayed,” he said. “There was nothing we could do, there was traffic on every road we came off.
“Despite that we took a deserved lead with a fantastic goal by Cody, got on the front foot early but then couldn’t work our press that well.
“We didn’t stop entries into the box at source but we defended setpieces admirably.
“It ended up as a flat back five and I don’t want to do that, I want to be more aggressive in a 3-4-3. But we can adapt and change it. I’ve only got 16 players but we can switch it in a game.
“I have to give the players credit again. It’s another clean sheet – we came under a lot of pressure. It was a totally different game today from Billericay.”
While centre-backs Ben Gerring and Jack Batten deserve a lot of plaudits for their displays, the youngest Roman Callum Wood was near faultless in a match Gill feared he could miss.
“He got a knock in training with Bristol City yesterday so credit to him for getting through the game,” said the Bath boss. “I thought he was brilliant. He was aggressive in his tackles, timed it right when he went to floor.
“Ben and Jack alongside him were terrific. They had to be – Tonbridge had a lot of territory but I can’t remember a clear-cut opening for them.
“We’ve shown we’ve got another side to us. You want to play the perfect game at times, creating more chances and scoring more goals, but you’ve got no given right in this league to do that.
“Credit to Steve’s boys – they’ve shown a reaction to last week and had spirit in abundance following their heavy defeat. We had to work hard for the three points.”
Cody Cooke became the first City player to score in his first two appearances since Marcus Crocker in 1995, but celebrations were dampened when Mo Touray hobbled off in the aftermath to be replaced by Tom Richards, who was later substituted himself.
“Mo felt his upper thigh, hip flex area,” Gill confirmed. “I think that’s down to the preparation, he said he didn’t feel quite right when he came off the coach. He tried a shot in the warm-up and knew something wasn’t right.
“We didn’t want him to pull it completely. We have to respect that he’s another team’s player, we don’t want a long-term injury for him. He’ll be fine for next week.
“They’re showing a really good team spirit. You could feel it on the bus on the way down and the dressing room afterwards.
“I gave a special mention to Tom Richards afterwards. It’s never easy bringing on a substitute and taking them back off. It was purely tactical.
“When you’ve got people like Lloyd James and Ryan Harley on your bench who have experience, nous and understanding of the game, it helps effect other people around them. It’s invaluable. Ryan came on and did what was expected of him.
“Tom understands it. He said to me afterwards: ‘It wasn’t my type of game.’ That’s a great attitude to have – knowing it’s for the team. That’s the type of environment we want to have.
“It’s only two games but I’d rather be here with six points, no goals against, than not. It’s a really good start.”
The Romans will be hoping to build on it against Robbie Simpson’s Chelmsford City, who’ve started the campaign with narrow 0-1 and 1-2 defeats at Slough and home to Maidstone respectively.
They were also edged out twice in four days by Bath last season, beaten 3-4 in Essex in the league with a 2-3 FA Trophy defeat three days later at Twerton in December.
“I don’t know what to expect from Chelmsford yet,” Gill admitted. “I’ll watch their game back from today.
“A lot of teams have changed personnel so I can’t tell until I watch them.
“We have to look after ourselves. We’re back at home, hopefully we get a big crowd in.
“There are a few bodies to patch up but I quite like it because it shows they’re showing a real steel and determination to keep the ball out of the net.
“Relationships in terms of patterns still need to be worked but that’ll come game after game. Today we found a way to win and I’m pleased about that.”