With Scott Wilson unavailable to face his parent club, Britton came back into the starting XI while Jason Pope, returning from suspension, replaced Callum Wood within the defence.
A curling James Dodd free-kick from 25 yards was the first action of the game, his effort narrowly past the front post of Harvey Wiles-Richards. Former Seagull Brad Ash then got Bath’s first opportunity of the night, firing over from 12 yards following a Will Jenkins Davies pull-back. Max Harris was then called into action to keep out a deflected Jordan Alves strike from 18 yards, Sam Avery then in the right place at the right time to stop an Ash rebound.
A clearance from another former Weston player, Danny Greenslade, clattered off of Will Dawes and forced Wiles-Richards to hold the goalbound ball, before Liam Sercombe’s effort from 18 yards when in space was wide of the target.
Half-Time: Weston-super-Mare AFC 0 – 0 Bath City
Scott Rogers’ men started the second half sharply, Britton forcing Wiles-Richards to keep out his 30-yard strike but the ball could only be pushed clear to a free Dawes six yards out. With not much time to adjust his feet, Dawes’ strike clattered the inside of the post and bounced away from the goal. Dawes then had an opportunity minutes later, his glancing header from Coulson’s cross wide of goal.
Britton was to find the net for the first time in the evening through a well-worked team move. Sercombe picked the ball up from Dawes on the right-hand side and drifted inside, quickly finding himself surrounded by Bath bodies 18 yards out. Checking back, he managed to play Michael Smith through down the right who hung a cross up into the centre, allowing Britton the chance to power home a header from 12 yards into the corner.
Dawes drove over from 18 yards when a Coulson free-kick dropped at his feet, before the Weston No.7 had a shot from the edge of the area blocked following Smith’s pull-back down the right-hand side.
The Romans were to level the scoring when Greenslade received the ball on the left and whipped a cross into the middle, Emlyn Lewis looked to flick away and as Weston scrambled to clear at the back post, Jenkins Davies gathered possession and managed to find the bottom corner to make it 1 – 1.
Weston weren’t to lie down however, Britton earning a corner down the left-hand side in added-on time. Coulson stepped up to put in one of his trademark inswinging deliveries, his ball in landing at the feet of Britton right on the goal-line who was able to bundle in and spark scenes in the main GSH Stand.
As the hosts were able to hold on and see things out until the final whistle, our attention now turns to the away journey this weekend, visiting Horsham for the first time.
Full-Time: Weston-super-Mare AFC 2 – 1 Bath City (Britton 56, 90+2; Jenkins Davies 83)
Attendance: 1,231
Weston XI: Harris, Smith, Bernard, Avery, Coulson, Dodd, Britton, Pope, Lewis (C), Sercombe, Dawes (Hicks 81).
Unused substitutes: Wood, King, Glover (GK), Johnson, Oliver.
MOTM – Chosen by CMS Group: Michael Smith. Another strong showing from the experienced right-back, his tenacity and reading of the game off the ball as well as a strong urge to join the attack going forward. Another classy assist for the former Northern Ireland international.
