‘Big decisions cost us but the lads didn’t throw in the towel’
Jerry Gill claimed he felt ‘hard done by’ as his side fell to a 3-0 loss at St Albans City last Saturday.
A debatable Shaun Jeffers penalty plus a free-kick by the same player put the Saints on course for victory, before Mitchell Weiss wrapped things up before the hour.
Gill was frustrated by the incidents prior to the opening two goals, sandwiched between an impressive first half showing.
“The performance was very good,” said Gill.
“In the first half it was some of the best football we’ve played and we created five really good chances. I thought the performance in general was very good. We’re not doom and gloom.
“The big decisions in the game have cost us.
“We watched the penalty back on the coach. It’s just not a penalty – Jeffers has left his leg in there and sold it.
“My disappointment is the referee didn’t give himself any time to think about it. His decision was instant.
“It was poor defending which leads to the sending off, we weren’t happy with our clearances all afternoon. That’s been a theme and we need to work on it.
“We didn’t recover from a slashed one for the second goal. It’s definitely a foul from Jordan but we felt like there was cover from Dan Greenslade. We felt as if it was a yellow card.
“We kept going, the lads didn’t throw the towel in. I stayed bullish and kept two up top.
“We still created chances and limited them really. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t look like we would come back and win it.
“What you don’t want is to get hammered. The message was to go out and fight, and they did. I can’t knock them for that.
“We just feel hard done by with those two decisions.”
It was City’s first failure to score away this season with the absences of Alex Fletcher and Cody Cooke proving pivotal.
The two had scored 21 of City’s 39 in all competitions and their absences meant their starting XI had scored just 27 between them in 403 appearances.
“We’re not using it as an excuse by no means but we’ve got our two talismans out of the team,” said Gill.
“Alex is back in Devon now which is brilliant. He’s got a long way to go, there will be a lot of specialists to see him.
“But the good sign is he improves each day. That’s the bigger picture. We’ll keep supporting his family and him.
“Cody needs to see a hernia specialist. He’s still getting discomfort on coughing and sneezing which is a classic hernia sign. We’re praying he hasn’t got that.
“If it is we want to get him in and sorted as quick as we can. We haven’t been able to turn it around quicker because the two scans haven’t shown too much.”
At the other end of the field, Josh Gould made his debut having been training with the side for two weeks. The goalkeeper spent part of last season on loan at Ebbsfleet United before his release from Swansea in the summer.
“We’ve been aware of him at Swindon Supermarine,” said Gill.
“He did very well there and I knew him before when he was at Swansea.
“He was excellent. I thought his distribution was great, he claimed a lot of crosses.
“He’s fitted in well, he’s trained with us for a few weeks. We’ll look forward to working with him between now and the end of the season.”
The players trained at Twerton Park last Thursday ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Welling United. It was the first time they returned to the venue following Fletcher’s accident on November 8 against Dulwich Hamlet.
“We wanted to mentally get over the thoughts and processes of the other week,” Gill confirmed.
“There will be that little hurdle on the night I’m sure.
“Welling are a full-time team so can work on those little bits which a part-time team can’t.
“I know they’re very strong on their set-pieces. They’re a big, physical side, players like Azeez in the team carry athleticism.
“Hopefully we get a big crowd in there to help us.”
■ THIS week sees Bath City have a rare Friday night fixture at Twerton Park with their match against Welling United switched from Saturday to avoid overlapping with World Cup knockout games over the weekend.
Fans are invited to enjoy an evening at the football with family and friends, free from the worries of work or school the next morning. This season supporters can indulge in a drink on the terraces from the new Stripes Bar, including beer, cider, prosecco and G&TS.
Everyone can save £1 on each ticket by buying in advance at www. bathcityfc.com/tickets. Bath City Women exited the Somerset Junior Cup at higher division Paulton Rovers Ladies on Sunday.
Despite a spirited performance at Winterfield Road, Matt Abreu’s side couldn’t upset the odds as Summer-lily Robinson’s goal wasn’t enough.
In the end the South West Eastern Division side had enough to progress to round three which will take place in the new year.
Matt Abreu’s side fell behind in the 6th minute when Yaz Laver converted following a corner, but the Romans didn’t back down in a physical affair and kept the deficit to one heading into half-time, aided by Sophie Campbell impressing in goal to keep her side in it.
Having started the second half brightly, City were rewarded just before the hour when Tara Taylor’s corner saw Robinson apply the final touch following a scramble to claim her second goal in two starts since signing.
The game became open on the large surface and City were caught on the counter on 67 minutes as Alex Gwyther put the hosts ahead via the underside of the crossbar.
In a desperate attempt to take the tie to penalties, City switched to a back three but were exposed as Imogen Stocker notched a third for Rovers with four minutes left.
Tanea Wright hit the bar in dying stages for Bath but they couldn’t apply any further scares as they will look to exact revenge on Wells City Ladies this Sunday at Twerton Park.