Welling fall to 1-0 defeat at Bath City
BY MARK DOIG
For the second weekend running, one goal was enough to settle a game involving Welling United as they lost 1-0 at Bath City on Saturday.
Having won at home to Aveley seven days earlier, the Wings were defeated at Twerton Park and finished with 10 men, and one short in the dugout.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between as both clubs battled hard with the Romans profiting from Welling’s one lapse of concentration at the back.
After starting quickly and enjoying the majority of the possession, Welling almost went behind when Ewan Clark sent a curler wide from 20 yards. The hosts then won a corner that was met by
Kieran Parselle on the volley, but he was stretching to reach it and it flew well over.
Gene Kennedy registered Welling’s first effort on target when Harvey Wiles-Richards claimed his drive before Reece Grant hooked over from close range after getting on the end of Martell Taylor-Crossdale’s centre.
The hosts went ahead slightly against the run of play. Jordan Tillson should have been closed down but was able to get a low cross in and Scott Wilson turned his man far too easily before firing home.
Sol Wanjau-Smith chested a Parselle diagonal cross wide before Welling goalkeeper Rhys Lovett claimed comfortably from Wilson’s low shot.
Early in the second period, Welling had another great opportunity when Gene Kennedy was played in by Chiori Johnson and poked it past the Bath goalkeeper but into the side-netting.
Game management was used by the street-wise hosts who did everything they could to break up or slow down play.
Several times, the referee told Wiles-Richards to keep the game moving but he was in no mood to be hurried and continued to take his time without further action being taken.
Welling boss Rod Stringer pushed Jack Burchell up from centre-back to striker.
That plan was scuppered when he and Jack Batten went in on a challenge and both were left in a heap.
Ben Morgan took his own action by kicking the prone Welling player and a skirmish ensued. When order was eventually restored, referee Stacey Pearson showed Burchell a second yellow card and dismissed him while letting Morgan get away with what he had done. Stringer’s disgust caused him to say something to the fourth official that was deemed enough to warrant a yellow card.
As stoppage time elapsed, Welling had one last chance when Kennedy burst through and looked to have been tripped in the penalty area.
The referee deemed otherwise and waved play on which incensed Welling’s kit man Rob Whitton to remonstrate and be shown a red card.
The Wings host Farnborough on Saturday and then head to Hornchurch on Monday.