by Zacharie Johnson-Pillon
USW fell to a 2-1 defeat to Bath University after dominating for most of the match at Sport Park.
Although Louis Gerrard brought USW back to 1-1 just before half time, it was Lewis White who led the away team to victory, as he scored a goal in each half.
USW came in to the game looking to bounce back from last week’s 4-2 defeat to Cardiff Metropolitan, against a Bath side who had conceded 13 goals in their last 3 games.
Quickly, USW asserted dominance, as they held their ground on the half way line. They pressured Bath every time when they lost possession and often regained it within seconds.
Kane Owen sprayed long balls from the back, which led to many half chances, as USW were unable to get a shot off. One of them however landed in Liam Edwards’ feet. He cut into the box and let a shot off, which hit the bar.
The long ball tactic seemed effective, but it meant Bath were able to counter whenever they got the ball back. In the tenth minute, Finley Phillips was fouled on the half way line. Joe O’Loughlin took it, and the ball dropped on the edge of the box.
After a scuffle, Phillips pulled off a well weighted lob pass, which fell to White in the box who slotted it past Morgan Davies in the USW goal.
Lee Kendall’s side continued to play the long ball. They got closer and closer to goal, but they weren’t able to give the keeper any work to do, most shots either going high or wide.
The game slowly turned into a back and forth affair, both teams losing possession often.
In the 40th minute, Mikey George had a powerful shot at goal for USW. Charlie Busby got a hand to it, and the shot went over the bar for a corner. Owen crossed the ball in to the near post to Gerrard, who headed the ball in to the bottom right corner.
As the referee blew the whistle for half-time, the score was 1-1.
As soon as play restarted, USW played long balls again. One of them fell to Tristan Jenkins, who tried to lob the keeper but saw his attempt go wide.
After a period of back and forth play, O’Loughlin crossed the ball in to White who was left unmarked in the six yard box. He headed the ball into the back of the net, and Bath went up 2-1 with less than 25 minutes to play.
From there on, USW upped the tempo, but they were unable to create any real chances, as they lacked patience and weren’t clinical enough in the last third of the pitch. Bath were able to sit back and counter as soon as they got the ball back.
In the 89th minute, USW looked to make one last push in order to get the equalizer. But poor passes were made round the back. Theo Wolfarth intercepted the ball and crossed it to Edward Dryden who had an empty goal in front of him. He completely missed the opportunity though, as his foot failed to make contact with the ball.
USW’s next game is after the Christmas break.
