Bath Sporting Round-Up

Our Bath teams were back in action this weekend with mixed fortunes.

Bath City were looking to book their place in the FA Cup First Round proper and Bath Rugby looked to get their Gallagher Premiership season underway with a win.

Bath Rugby soar past the Falcons

Bath Rugby hosted the Newcastle Falcons in the first game of the Gallagher Premiership. It would take only three minutes for the first points to be scored. The Falcons going three up after a penalty. 

The visitors would get another penalty in the eighth minute and once again convert making it 6-0. A dream start for the visitors would end when they had a man yellow-carded and give Bath a big chance to take control. 

Just a minute after gaining the advantage Bath would make Newcastle pay when Alfie Barbeary scored the first try of the game, the conversion would be missed meaning the Falcons still led 6-5.

The Falcons added another three points from a third penalty of the game making the score 9-5, 16 minutes in. Newcastle would regain their strength after Ben Stevenson returned to the field.

Despite getting back the extra man Newcastle couldn’t stop skipper Ben Spencer whose try gave Bath their first lead of the game 22 minutes in. 

Newcastle swapped scoring penalties for a try when Matias Orlando scored, Brett Connon was on hand to convert and gave the Falcons a 16-10 lead. Shortly after Bath responded Cameron Redpath was back in the lineup and scoring Bath's third try of the game, this time Spencer converted and Bath took a one-point lead of 17-16. 

Bath had gained control of the game as the half went on and as it approached half-time, Spencer was on hand to score his second try of the game and Bath's fourth. The captain then converted his try and handed Bath a 24-16 lead at the break. 

Second Half

Seven minutes into the second half it was Bath who added to their lead, Spencer had a hattrick and converted his try making it 29-16 to Bath. 

The Falcons would strike back in the 52nd minute with Stevenson adding his second try of the game but the conversion was missed leaving the score 29-21. A few minutes later the Falcons would again find themselves a man down. Rory Jennings was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle. 

Bath looked to close the game out by adding another try in the 70th minute, Will Muir made it but Finn Russell's conversion was wide giving Bath a 34-21 lead. 

In the final moments of the game, the visitors added a consolation try but the conversion fell short and the match ended moments later.

A big win for Bath in their opening Gallagher Premiership fixture earning all five points.

Bath City fall at the final hurdle

Bath were back in FA Cup action travelling to Worthing hoping to make it into the next round. 

The first chance fell to the hosts Ricky Aguiars floated cross took a deflection and called Ollie Wright into action.  

Worthing looked more in control for the majority of the first half, Joan Luque had been causing the Bath defence issues with him popping up for chances inside and outside of the box. 

The first half lacked any real chances for Bath and in the final moments of the first half there was an appeal from the home side when Joel Colbran was seemingly brought down in the box but the appeals were ignored and the sides went in at half-time goalless. 

Second Half

Worthing started the second half strongly and loud shouts for a penalty went up again in the 48th minute after the ball appeared to strike the hand of a Bath player but nothing came of it. 

Despite not getting a penalty Worthing continued their pursuit and Danny Cashman was the man on hand to get on the end of a loose ball and score for the hosts. Bath needed to respond in a game they had really struggled to get a grasp of. 

Cashman had come alive in the second half and minutes after grabbing his first goal he found his second meeting a cross and powering a header past Wright leaving Bath looking down and out of the FA Cup. 

The second half didn't see much action as Worthing looked to conserve their two-goal lead and Bath tried to get their attack up and firing. Cashman was searching for his hat-trick and had multiple chances that either went wide or were blocked. 

Bath looked to be crashing out of the FA Cup and missing out on the First Round proper unless they could spark a goliath comeback in the final moments.

The full-time whistle would come and end Bath's misery, after a run that saw them have some dazzling comebacks they would fall at the final hurdle in a poor performance.