Bath
claimed their second victory in a week over academy opposition
on Saturday.
Still in high spirits after the entertaining 5-4 win
over Swindon
Town, Bath arrived in high spirits at Reading
FC’s training ground at Hogwood Park.
Playing
Reading for the first time, the
young Bath side were instructed
to make an immediate impression on their counterparts, who
were also using the game to view trialists from the likes of
Crystal Palace and Fulham.
Pleased to be
playing on a slick and flat surface, the Bath
players moved the ball well and began to create chances from
the onset.
Firstly, Paris Grappy (WASPS) forced the keeper into a
good save and then Bradley Norris (Oldfield
Park)
went close when his shot flew just over the bar. It was Norris who eventually broke the deadlock
after just 5 minutes when a well worked corner gave
William Oswin (Newbridge) the
opportunity to cross and Norris
converted at the near post.
Bath
doubled their lead shortly after with Norris returning the favour to Oswin with a
fine cross which the left winger tidily tucked away. The next ten minutes
saw numerous chances for both sides but the Bath keeper Joseph Davies (WASPS) was in
inspired form as he made two fantastic reflex saves from the
Reading advances.
Unsurprisingly,
Reading then pulled a goal back
after Bath failed to close down
quick enough and the ball was driven into the roof of the
Bath net. Reading then levelled after Jamie
Smithies (Chandag) failed to clear and a quick interchange
between the Reading midfield
and attack left the Bath keeper stranded.
Disappointed to
have conceded a good lead once again, Bath
regrouped and began the second half with renewed
determination. The two captains Smithies and Charlie Wills (The Paragon) limited Reading’s impressive striker to few
chances, and Alex Jacobs and Kristian Scott
ensured that Bath won the majority of the
ball in midfield.
It was this sharp play which led to the opening for
Jack Rowlands (St
Stephen’s) to fire
home with his left foot, his fourth goal in two games from
midfield.
However, the
Reading under 11s side were
immediate in their response and began to push forward and test
the Bath keeper. Once again, chances
came and went for both sides, but it was Reading
who scored the next goal when their central midfilder drilled
a shot in from 20 yards.
With this
Bath upped their work rate once
more and their efforts were to pay dividends after a fine
cross from Jacobs was handled by a
Reading defender. Norris stepped forward and scored his
second to win the game for Bath 4-3.
Coach Tim
Kirk, “The boys
have had a great day.
We were very lucky that Reading invited us to come
and play and use their superb facilities and the lads wanted
to make the most of it.
The match was fantastic to watch as there were lots of
chances, good passing movements, and moments of impressive
individual skill.
I think had Reading played their full
academy side, we would have found the game much tougher, but
we certainly deserved to win it in the end and we’ll take a
lot of confidence from the performance.
