I had been saving a trip to Bitton until today as the nearest FA Vase 4th round match that would be at a new ground. With the cold weather a number of games locally were being called off due to frozen pitches. With visitors Coalville Town travelling down from Leicestershire I assumed that there would be an early pitch inspection and with the game showing as on at 11.30 I felt confident it would be on.
I had passed the ground a couple of weeks earlier on my way to Longwell Green which made the drive up nice and straightforward. I even had time to travel through the centre of Bath for a change rather than take the backroads. When I arrived at Bitton I managed to find a prime parking spot to watch Bitton reserves on the outside pitch. There were a couple of decent goals and a penalty in the time that I ate my lunch.
As I finished eating I heard a big cry as the visitor’s supporters coach arrived and the chants started to ring out. Most of them headed towards the bar for some food and drink after their long journey but a few joined me in heading into the ground to take in the pre-match atmosphere. There was one small covered area by the entrance and an impressive stand on the far side. The ground was fully enclosed by a wall and fence but I was still able to watch the end of the reserve game over the top of the wall.
One of the aspects I enjoy about watching the later stages of the Vase is that it brings together successful teams from around the country and gives them the chance to take on new opposition. Coalville have had a very good start to the season and came into the match top of the Midland Football Alliance League with only 1 league defeat all season. Bitton have played a number of games less than their Western Premier League rivals due to cup runs but had only lost twice in the league.
By the time the game kicked off the ground had filled up nicely and I estimated an attendance of 250 or so. Bitton were wearing a red and white striped kit with Coalville in broad black and white stripes. There were a couple of strong tackles in the first ten minutes as both teams pushed forward. Having seen Bitton’s freekick expertise recently I felt that Coalville were taking a risk in giving away unnecessary fouls.
Bitton took the lead in the 10th minute when a shot rebounded off the right post and bounced back out to another home player to knock into the net with the keeper out of position. Two minutes later and it was almost two nil when a low shot was instinctively pushed away by the Coalville keeper.
Bitton then gave away a freekick in the 15th minute as one of their players brought down the pacy number 8, Robins. The ball was nicely positioned on the right side just outside the area and Coalville’s right back decided to go for goal rather than cross it into the area. He hit a superb shot that curled above the jumping wall and into the top centre of the goal, beating the Bitton keeper who managed to get a hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out. An excellent finish.
The game had really opened up and both teams continued to show why they were doing well in their respective leagues. Bitton came straight back at Coalville and won a corner in the 17th minute. While the corner wasn’t the best and came back out, the follow up cross was hit better and found a Bitton head to steer a header just over the bar. Coalville had a lot of pace up front and used it in the 23rd minute with a great breakaway attack. The striker went through the defence and as the keeper rushed out to narrow the angle, the ball was chipped up and over his head. It took a full stretch for the keeper to leap up and get a hand to the ball to deflect it wide for a corner.
In the 28th minute Robins carved his way though the Bitton defence again and it looked like he would be in on goal only for a last ditch sliding tackle to take him and the ball out of danger. The Coalville bench was up in arms as they felt it should have been a penalty and the language used by their manager in describing the referee was frankly unacceptable. If the ground regulations had been followed, he should have been watching the game from the other side of the fence. Sadly we had to spend the rest of the afternoon listening to his foul mouth rantings.
Coalville were having a good spell and came very close to taking the lead when a shot from distance span past the Bitton keeper only for the ball to strike the base of the left post and go wide. In the 36th minute another shot from the edge of the area drew a good save from the Bitton keeper. He was then caught out a minute later when he came to the edge of the area to try and cover a Coalville player before scrambling back towards his goal when the player turned and crossed the ball. The cross found a Bitton player who was able to clear it away.
In the 40th minute it was Bitton’s turn to claim a penalty when one of their strikers was clipped as he ran with the ball into the area. The referee had a good look but waved his arms and allowed play to continue. Right on halftime Coalville had another freekick on the edge of the area but on this occasion the on target shot was saved by the Bitton keeper.
At halftime I thought that the cup tie could go either way, with Coalville perhaps at an advantage as they were playing down the slope. However it was Bitton who started the half better and were denied another penalty in the 48th minute when one of their players was dragged down in the area. The pressure from the home team continued and they saw a good shot tipped round the post moments later. From the corner it appeared that a defender headed the ball over the bar and onto the top of the net but the referee incurred the ire of the home fans by awarding a goalkick to Coalville.
The pressure finally paid off in the 52nd minute when Bitton were awarded a corner. The ball was crossed at pace into the middle where a home head glanced the ball through a crowd of players and into the net, hitting the side netting just behind the post to give Bitton a 2.1 lead.
Tempers started to boil over as the visitors conceded several freekicks. Coalville had one decent chance when the Bitton keeper spilled the ball from a shot and had to rely on a central defender to kick it clear before a Coalville player could get to the ball.
The game finally boiled over in the 62nd minute when Robins flew into a tackle with both feet and studs showing and took out the Bitton player as well as the ball. An awful tackle that could have led to a red card but after the teams were separated after squaring up, the referee only gave a yellow card. Not sure if he was influenced by the screaming from the Coalville bench and supporters behind the goal who were launching obscenity after obscenity towards him. Some of the Coalville supporters walked round to the main stand to try and wind up the home supporters while the home player received treatment.
This break in play seemed to distract the home team and Coalville took advantage. After hitting the crossbar with a header in the 65th minute, they wond a freekick on the far side. The ball was crossed into the area and after the first header was whacked straight at the keeper, a follow up header found the back of the net to make the score 2.2.
Coalville now had the upper hand and saw the ball fizz just wide of the post from an attempted cross before it was their turn to appeal for a penalty in the 85th minute. One of their players was brought down just outside the area and the referee correctly awarded a freekick for the trip. The Coalville manager continued screaming and screaming at the referee that it was a definite penalty - when he asked his player to confirm a minute later when he ran up the line, the player looked surprised and confirmed it wasn’t. No surprise that the Coalville manager was temporarily lost for words and didn’t confirm to the referee that he was wrong in the same loudmouth manner.
Perhaps he was still reeling from the surprise of seeing his captain miss an open goal as the ball fell to him in the area only to be hit well over the crossbar. It looked as if the game was going into extra time but there was a final twist at the end as a Bitton attack broke down and the ball was played long up the pitch. The Bitton keeper hadn’t looked comfortable with goalkicks throughout the game but when the ball came back to him I wasn’t expecting to see anything else but a long punt upfield.
However the keeper mishit the ball on the muddy surface and ended up slicing it high and to his right, straight to where a Coalville player was running in. He stayed calm and headed the ball over the retreating keeper and into the empty net before running to the away fans behind the goal to celebrate the 3.2 lead.
The game was already in injury time and there was no time for the home team to create another scoring opportunity before the referee blew the final whistle. As I walked round the pitch to get to the car the visiting players and supporters gathered by the pitch entrance to celebrate what they hoped would be another step to Wembley.
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