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Dutton challenges team to bounce back after FA Cup heatbreak

Bath City came to the Ray Mac for their first competitive meeting with Salisbury FC <i>(Image: John Rose)</i>
Bath City came to the Ray Mac for their first competitive meeting with Salisbury FC (Image: John Rose)

SALISBURY'S FA Cup dream is over after a last-gasp winner from league-rivals Bath City.

The Whites conceded in the 92nd minute to lose the tie and their chance of a cup run, after being 1-0 up at half-time.

Out of the cup, Salisbury will hope for league success in a so far rollercoaster season, but manager Brian Dutton wants to see improvement from his players.

Speaking after the match, Brian Dutton said: "If they've got any character about them, they'll be counting down the minutes to the next game."

Brian continued: "That performance by some of them out there was weak, soft, lacking quality and they should be shamed, really."

"In front of a big crowd, [with] an opportunity to show how good they are, they failed."

After a tentative start, Salisbury broke the deadlock in the 18th minute thanks to Josh Hedges, who netted a rebounded Noah Coppin strike.

Bath pushed back and Clark came close just 6 minutes later when he headed just over at the back post.

They came closer still as the half progressed, hitting the bar in the 40th minute after Aziaya failed to deal with a dangerous cross.

Former Salisbury loanee Kieran Parselle was just unable to get his acrobatic effort on target.

The away side had the ball in the back of the net before the half was over, but Nick Grimes was adjudged to have been offside before putting the ball away, and Salisbury led by 1-0 at the break.

Josh Hedges netted for the Whites (Image: John Rose) The home side started the second half well, and Wiles-Richards was forced into a couple of early saves, first from Jordan Thomas, who tried to lift the ball over the Bath stopper when in one-on-one before palming over a good effort from Hedges.

The leveller came in the 63rd minute when Salisbury failed to clear the ball on a couple of occasions, and Jordan Tilson was the man in the right place at the right time, squeezing the ball home after a bit of a scramble in the box.

Both sides pushed for a winner, with both ‘keepers playing their part in keeping the scores at 1-1, Wiles-Richards denying Aidan Elliott-Wheeler and Aziaya with a great stop from a point-blank effort with just four minutes left on the clock.

Salisbury created a flurry of chances as the game ticked towards full time, but they weren’t able to take any and it was Bath’s Alex Fisher who made the difference.

A thorn in Salisbury’s defence all game, the tall striker rose highest to head home from eight yards out with two minutes of added time played to send the Romans through to the next qualifying round of the cup.

The Whites will be back in action this Saturday, when they will be away at St Albans City.

Dutton added: "We need a reaction against St Albans, and the focus now is the league campaign and the FA Trophy".

Match report by Andy Munns