Rugby Town 1-0 TeamBath

Southern League Premier Division

Saturday, 22nd April 2006

Attendance | 204

Photo Gallery | Goalscorer Wells is well-watched by the Students

A first goal in senior football for young Matt Wells finally ended Town's poor run of results and rounded off their home fixtures for the season with a single goal victory over Team Bath.

With both teams safe in the league and the end of the 2005-06 campaign drawing near, the game lacked any real conviction or pace - and at times in the first half it often resembled a training/practice match.

Team Bath played some neat passing football and edged the opening period of the game, but rarely threatened in front of goal. Rugby emerged for the second half with more purpose though, and deservedly took the lead through Wells. The visitors responded in the closing minutes of the game, but Farhad Afandiyev was in fine form for Town between the sticks and combined with some solid defending in front of him, he was able to record his 8th clean sheet for the club in his 27th game.

Kevin Slinn had an early opportunity to open the scoring in the 11th minute when his backward header at a near post from a Tim Wooding corner went just over the bar. Both Neil Saunders and Adi Adams also had chances early in the game for Team Bath, but neither managed to get the necessary power to their shots and Afandiyev gathered comfortably on each occasion.

Wooding curled a free-kick dangerously across the box on 23 minutes, and in the best move of the first half Team Bath skipper Sean Cadham slammed his effort into the side netting after a neat one-two with Adams on the right-hand of the box.

For Rugby, Wells only just failed to get onto the end of a long ball into the box from Willis Francis, with Bath keeper Jacob Giles beating him to it and punching it to safety.

Town started the second half brightly, and almost immediately Delroy Gordon's cheeky cross/shot fell agonisingly wide of the post. Another good ball from Francis then released Wells, but the young striker could only blast the ball over the bar from a good position.

The breakthrough came on 64 minutes when Wooding's free-kick into the box was won by the head of Slinn, and the ball fell to Wells near the edge of the penalty area. With his back to goal, he then launched a speculative lobbed effort which caught Giles by surprise and it looped over his head and impressively into the corner of the net.

Afandiyev was in outstanding form when, twice in close succession, he made excellent saves first from Jake Reid and then from Cadham after they had got in behind the Rugby back-line and only had him to beat. The Azerbaijani keeper also claimed a number of dangerous crosses and balls into the box, as the away side went in search of an equaliser.

Valley substitutes Ryan Byrne and Steve Evans combined well on 83 minutes, but Evans shot from the edge of the box was caught easily by Giles. Byrne again was instrumental in play, when his clever through ball almost put through a busy Matt Gearing in closing moments of the game.