After victory against Eastbourne in the FA Trophy second round, we welcomed Bath City to Meadowbank for some festive football in the third round of the competition. The visitors started the match in positive fashion, seeing shots from Danny Greenslade and Jordan Alves blocked, with Frank Vincent also striking wide from long range for us.
The visitors were taken to penalties in the previous round against Bracknell Town, but they were on top in the early stages as Luke Russe also had a headed effort at goal, and former Barnsley forward Brad Ash had another effort from distance, both of which went wide.
In the previous league fixture between the two sides, we won 1–2 on the road in August; however, Bath City remained on top in this encounter during the opening stages, as Joe Raynes tried his luck from distance with a deflected effort.
Striker Patrick Casey, making his debut for us after joining from Charlton, was the first to have a notable say in the match, chesting the ball down and placing it in the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Goalkeeper Charlie Binns, who joined the visitors in October, was tested by Casey moments later as Josh Hebert drilled in a low ball which Casey struck first time, forcing Binns to make a low save to his left, before Brennan Camp headed wide.
As half-time drew nearer, Patrick Casey continued to be a lively presence up front for us, heading a Dennon Lewis cross over the bar and striking a deflected effort wide after a through ball from Lewis.
Early in the second half, Brad Ash provided us with a scare as he curled a wonderful effort from distance against the bar, coming close to an equaliser.
Ash’s teammate Jordan Alves was able to show his quality minutes later, striking a free kick from distance into the top right corner of Harrison Foulkes’ goal to equalise.
The visitors, in a similar manner to the first half, started the opening exchanges of the second half on top, sensing an opportunity to take the lead.
Full-back Danny Greenslade was next to test Harrison Foulkes, forcing him into a strong one-handed save at his near post from the left-hand side, before Jack Batten struck the ball from distance into Foulkes’ hands.
The visitors pressed high, looking to unlock our defence; however, that allowed us a chance on the counter, where Patrick Casey found Dennon Lewis, who curled the ball over the bar.
The best opportunity of the second half came for the visitors in the 67th minute, as Jordan Tillson met a beautiful cross with a header from point-blank range which went wide of Harrison Foulkes’ goal.
Foulkes was busy in the second half and had to be at his best to deny Owen Windsor and Brad Ash on the follow-up, as Windsor latched onto a loose pass from Josh Hebert before bearing down on goal.
With the match at a stalemate at full time, the game had to be decided via penalties.
The visitors won the penalty shootout 2-4 to advance to the next round.
We make a quick return to Meadowbank following this fixture, hosting Weston-Super-Mare on Tuesday in National League South action.