Cirencester Town 0 Team Bath 1

THIS match highlighted Cirencester Town's dilemma as the club fights to avoid relegation from the Southern League Premier Division.

Town, who dropped into the relegation zone as a result of this defeat, named a 14-strong squad containing no less than five teenage products of their fruitful academy.

Team Bath, second in the league, had a 16-man squad boasting a player of the calibre and experience of Brian Tinnion, Bristol City's ex-player manager.

Town bravely played an attacking 4-3-3 formation that saw speedy Lee Smith, usually a right wingback, join Liam Horsted and Ian McSherry up front.

With Cirencester clearly up for the challenge, the match was played at a fast pace.

Bath should have scored in the first minute when Town's defenders seemed to forget that players cannot be offside from throw-ins.

Stepping up from a Bath throw-in, they let visiting striker, Sean Canham, get behind them.

Fortunately for Cirencester, Canham lacked composure as he met the throw-in, trying to swivel and hit a first-time, 15-yard volley when he could have taken a touch.

He failed to connect and the ball ran tamely through to Town goalkeeper, Kevin Sawyer.

On three minutes, Cirencester showed they were unafraid of their high-flying opposition when James Rowe broke down the right wing and crossed to the far post where Horsted volleyed wide from six yards.

Rowe repeated the trick two minutes later but McSherry miscued his far-post header under pressure from Bath defenders.

With Cirencester's unsettled team playing such an accomplished outfit, the match inevitably settled into what has become a familiar pattern in the Centurions' recent games and involves them being penned in their own half as their opponents dominate possession.

Bath should have scored on seven minutes when Tinnion beat Rowe on Cirencester's right flank and crossed to Dan Dillon who, unmarked on the edge of Town's six-yard box, turned and shot wide.

A minute later, a long free kick into Cirencester's penalty area saw Matt Cooper knock the ball back to the edge of the 18-yard box from where Matt Taylor shot over.

A minute later, Tinnion sent another left-wing cross into Cirencester's area, where Canham laid the ball back to Cooper who also shot over from the edge of the area.

Worryingly for Town, Steve Leigh was felled by Canham's late challenge in the 30th minute.

Canham was booked but Leigh, the defensive lynchpin who has only just returned to Cirencester's team following injury, was later substituted.

On 34 minutes, a near-post cross had Sawyer scrambling to tip the ball over after it skimmed off a defender's head.

Within a minute, Town were offered brief respite by a free kick they played into McSherry's feet on the left-hand angle of Bath's penalty area.

McSherry turned and shot low from 18 yards but straight into the arms of Bath goalkeeper, Darren Chitty.

An increasingly frenetic was decided by a rare moment of quality on 35 minutes. Bath captain Neil Saunders met a near-post corner in Town's penalty area.

Saunders worked space in Cirencester's crowded area by skillfully beating a defender before calmly side-footing into the bottom-left corner of Town's net.

Bath worked the same routine three minutes later but this time Tinnion's left-foot shot, from the edge of Cirencester's penalty area, was deflected over.

Recent matches have seen Town improve in the second half and this fixture was no exception because, after the break, they took the game to their visitors.

Cirencester should have equalised on 52 minutes when, for once, Bath's defenders were caught square.

Running through the middle of the pitch, Smith latched onto a ball over the top of them to race into Bath's penalty area and go one-on-one with Chitty.

Frustratingly for Cirencester, Smith shot high and wide when he could have possibly taken the ball around the goalkeeper.

There were few chances from then on, although the 73rd minute saw Bath's Matt Townley cut in from the right and send a looping 20-yarder wide of Town's far post.

Cirencester Town: Kevin Sawyer, James Rowe, Harry Etheridge, Steve Leigh (Daniel Hilder 57), Oliver Holder, Rob Rogers, Steve Cowe (Daniel Wallington 45), Michael Jackson (c), Lee Smith, Ian McSherry, Liam Horsted (Olamidi Dedegbe 57).

Team Bath: Darren Chitty, Matt Townley, Nuno Lopes, Marc Canham, Matt Taylor, Sami El-Abd, Dan Dillon (Steve Abbott 71), Neil Saunders (c) (Matt Lock 87), Matt Cooper, Sean Canham, Brian Tinnion.

Man of the Match: Oliver Holder (Cirencester)

Referee: A. Gillett (Aylesbury) Attendance: 196