Sing When You're Drawing!

Last week I posted a question on the Bath City forum: "how many points do we expect to get from the two upcoming bank-holiday weekend matches against Dorchester and Worcester City?" Twelve of the thirteen respondents predicted the full six points. As I rode with my friend Mark on the way to yesterday's match, though, City had already managed to drop two points away to Dorchester. Neither of us knew more than the score from that game. You would think that we would feel unqualified to make predictions about the second match without really knowing what happened in the first, but you would be wrong. After some discussion we determined that City should win, but that the attendance would be a disappointing sub-500 count.

One of the problems with following a team in the Blue Square South is that there is very little information about opposing teams. Unless you have seen a team play recently you can only guess how good they are. The non-league media, although much appreciated by its readership, doesn't have the financial muscle to follow many teams in depth. Until you reach the Blue Square Premier the only way most fans can size up the opposition is to look at the standings, read through a few forums, and take an educated guess.

As Worcester had yet to win any of their first six matches Mark and I came to the considered conclusion that City should thrash them soundly. That is, of course, unless they are one of those teams that has just had a bad start and are due for a win. Or unless they are one of those innumerable clubs that aren't actually any good but City still struggle to defeat anyway. In a nutshell, we didn't have a clue.

Once we arrived at sunny Twerton Park we settled into our match day routine: we bought programs from outside Charlie's Bar, I bought a '125 lottery' ticket, we paid our admission and squeezed through the claustrophobic, Victorian-era turnstiles, and moseyed over to the popular side for our pre-match cup of tea.

While sipping my tea I learned from a fellow fan that Mark Badman had been one of the scorers against Dorchester, but that he had also left the pitch with a groin strain. Chris 'Dutch' Holland and Richard Evans were still out with injuries as well. Add in the semi-permanent lack of a regular keeper, and City's squad was looking a bit threadbare. Because common sense takes a holiday when I enter Twerton Park, I took in this information and drew the exact opposite conclusion of what a sane person would. My reaction to the long list of walking wounded was that the team would receive a confidence boost from winning without so many key players. I suppose being realistic isn't what I come to football matches for, really.

The first half an hour yesterday's match will not make it into any end-of-season highlight reels. Neither team played with distinction. Although there was one incident that almost led to an own goal against City, Worcester never appeared on the verge of scoring on their own merit. City kept possession for long stretches of play and managed to keep the ball on the deck much of the time. Despite this, though, they somehow managed to play in a disjointed style. Perhaps it was the absence of the increasingly vital Mark Badman, but City appeared to be taking up the familiar role of the superior team that cant' score.

Midway through the half, though, something remarkable began to happen off the pitch. The City supporters opposite the Bristol end goal began to sing. I have heard the occasional chant in my time at Twerton, but it has never lasted more than a few seconds. This appeared to be different. This noise continued beyond brief passages of play. When a song finished sometimes a new song would be taken up. For the first time in my brief stint as a fan, Twerton Park sounded like the league grounds on television and radio.

I love almost everything about non-league football, but there is one thing where league supporters have us beaten cold. English football league crowd noise is one of my absolute favourite things to listen to. I often tune in to 5 Live football commentary even when I have no interest in the match at all - I just love hearing the atmosphere at the ground. It is one of the real jewels of British sport, and one that is mysteriously absent from most non-league matches. Some away fans sing (and City fans sing passionately when away), but the numbers are never large enough to have the desired impact. Perhaps it is the smaller crowds, or perhaps it is the sensibilities of the supporters (unlikely as we are hardly sensible), but I have yet to go to a non-league game with anything like a real league match atmosphere.....until yesterday!

As a relatively recent City fan, this was a great experience. I have heard that City matches in the past were always really noisy but that it had died off in the last few years. This happened, I'm told, after a group of the noisier fans called the 'bedsheet boys' had been given a lot of stick from other fans and stopped coming. I don't know why, but some of them had returned after a long absence. Personally, I don't think they could have returned too soon. It could have been a delusion on my part, but as the singing continued and grew more confident it appeared that the City players were responding and attacking the Worcester goal more aggressively.

Singing doesn't prevent defensive errors, we were to learn. A Worcester player managed to get control of the ball on the right side of the goal line and chip a looping cross over Steve Perrin to give another Worcester player the easiest of strikes. I don't mean to be unfair to Worcester, but it was a lucky goal. It is the sort of goal that City have been conceding regularly this season - against the run of play and preceded by awkward and hesitant defending.

That was depressing and you might think this dampened the crowd's spirits, but within moments of the goal going the impromptu choir began 'When the Stripes Go Marching In' for about the fifth time of the match. I won't lie and say that the singing made me feel okay about the goal - I felt pretty depressed. Still, there is nothing like a bit of defiant noise to take the edge off of emotional pain. At half time I found myself felling less glum than I might have otherwise. A bit anyway.

As I meandered around the terrace with Mark I decided that if I won the £100 prize from the '125' lottery half time draw I would still call it a good day. But I didn't, and I did not win the £25 second prize, or the bottle of wine either. Some day I'm bound to win it. I consoled myself with another cup of tea.

After the interval both City and the bedsheet boys switched sides, both concentrating their efforts on the Bath end. Typical to this season's form, the City players played with a passion and intensity, now that they were behind, that was marvelous to behold. Ironically, if you want an easy time against Bath City this season the last thing you want to do is take the lead. Once that happens all the players step up a gear and start playing for their lives. It is only after you concede the lead to City that their confidence really falters and the momentum shifts against them. I'm not sure what to make of it, but it could be worse.

You might wonder with all of my descriptions of aggressive, intelligent play how is it that City have not won every game? I ask myself this often, to be honest. Despite the welcome addition of Kaid Mohamed, City still appear to lack the ability to capitalise on their possession consistently. The mid-field is brilliant at getting the ball up to the penalty box, or deep into the opposition corners, but at that point the creativity usually falters. The fact that play has improved significantly but results are more or less the same as last season is a frustration to fans and players alike.

But the key thing here is that play has improved and City are a much more attractive team to watch, even when they are not playing their best. Early in the second half there was a good five minutes of play where Worcester were repeatedly unable to clear the ball out of their half. City got in position for cross after cross. The singing was at its most intense at this point as well - it felt like the crowd was pushing for the players to score and they were responding (again, this might be just what we like to think but its how it seemed). I really wanted to join in, but I was in a group of much quieter fans ten yards down from the noisier crowd. I couldn't quite manage the gumption to sing alone by myself, although I did manage a few bars of 'Come on City!' under my breath.

Worcester eventually did clear the ball, but only briefly. Sekani Simpson, one of the best ball control experts in the non-league game, snuck the ball deep into Worcester's right corner and around a defender. He managed a sharp, downward cross which was met equally sharply by Mike Perrotts extended right foot. It was one of the best volleys I've ever seen and the Worcester keeper, Ben Hinchliffe, had no chance whatsoever. The goal was so breathtaking I forgot for the first few minutes that City was no longer behind. Okay, it may not have been the most amazing goal in football history, but it was darn good and would have most league strikers envious. We were all happy, anyway.

Perrott nearly put us ahead a few minutes later. A well placed corner reached him in front of goal. He managed to head it on target and with a lot of power, but Hinchliffe managed a brilliant deflection over the bar. It is a good thing Hinchliffe can manage brilliant deflections, actually, because I've never seen a keeper so inept at kicking. I'm not exaggerating when I say most of his long kicks went straight out of bounds. Only two or three managed to reach a player on the pitch. With a foot like that you know he must be a pretty good shot blocker to earn his place.

City kept pressing ahead, but the mid-field began to falter. Both clubs settled in for a draw in the last five minutes (although I don't think City did this intentionally). Perrott hobbled off with a strained ankle a few minutes before time to a loud cheer from the crowd. Hopefully he won't be added to the growing list of walking wounded.

As the whistle blew full time I felt mixed emotions. It was good to see City battle hard for the point, but I also felt uneasy watching them struggle against a team who is at the bottom of the table. Considering the injuries, a draw may have been a good result. Having gone into the weekend expecting six points, though, a meagre two seemed cold comfort no matter what the circumstances were.

But the 'bedsheet boys' made up for much of my disappointment. That, and the higher than expected attendance of 620. We should be attracting closer to 800, to be honest, but City's gate has gone up every home match this season. I hope the trend continues. I also hope the singing will continue. I have determined, though, that there will, at least, be one more voice contributing at the next home match against Eastleigh on Tuesday.

Come on City!