"There's a good feel around the place and we need to just keep racking up the wins."

Bath City secured a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Havant & Waterlooville at Twerton Park, with substitute Alex Fisher scoring a decisive 83rd-minute winner. In a closely contested encounter where both sides struggled to find a breakthrough, Fisher's late intervention proved the difference as the Romans claimed all three points.

The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening five minutes, but it was City who created the first real opportunity. A misplaced header from the Havant defence fell kindly to Reuben Reid, whose effort drifted narrowly wide of the far post.

The exchanges that followed were evenly contested, with neither side able to establish a consistent attacking rhythm. Havant threatened after 15 minutes when Leon Maloney delivered a dangerous cross into the penalty area, but City defender Ollie Tomlinson produced a crucial block to divert the ball behind for a corner.

As the half progressed, the Romans began to enjoy more possession and apply sustained pressure. Enzio Boldewijn had an opportunity from a free-kick just outside the penalty area following a foul by the visitors, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

Despite City's growing influence, Havant remained dangerous when pushing forward. A free-kick from Maloney caused problems inside the Romans' penalty area, with Ryan Seager managing to bring the ball down before his effort was deflected behind for a corner.

The resulting set-piece created further danger as the ball bounced around a crowded penalty area, with several Havant players attempting to capitalise before Nathaniel Chioma struck an effort that hit the near post and out to the City defence to clear.

At the other end, a corner found Tomlinson, whose initial header was scrambled away. The ball fell back to the defender, but his follow-up effort struck Reid and was deflected behind for a goal kick.

Despite opportunities for both sides, neither could find the breakthrough before the interval, leaving the contest goalless at half-time.

The second half began in similar fashion, with both teams enjoying spells of possession but struggling to create clear-cut opportunities against organised defensive lines.

The visitors soon threatened when Chioma released substitute Ethan Giwa-McNeil down the left flank. His dangerous delivery flashed across the penalty area, but Seager was unable to make contact. The ball eventually returned to Chioma on the edge of the box, although his effort flew over the crossbar.

Moments later, City came agonisingly close to taking the lead. Reid and Scott Wilson combined to break through the Havant defence, with Wilson finding himself in a promising position inside the penalty area. His effort beat goalkeeper Matt Kerbey but struck the near post, denying the Romans a breakthrough in the 72nd minute.

The visitors threatened again from a free-kick on the edge of the area after Harrison Minturn brought down Alfy Whittingham. Seager stepped up and curled his effort over the defensive wall, but the ball struck the top of the crossbar before going behind.

With the game entering its final ten minutes, City’s manager made another attacking change, introducing Alex Fisher in place of Matt Bowman in the 81st minute.

The substitution proved decisive just two minutes later.

Joe Raynes played the ball forward to Boldewijn, who delivered an inviting cross into the penalty area. Fisher reacted quickest, beating his defender to the delivery and directing a powerful header beyond Kerbey at the near post to give the Romans the lead in the 83rd minute.

The goal, coming from Fisher's second touch after entering the pitch, sparked celebrations around Twerton Park and gave the Romans a crucial advantage heading into the closing stages.

Fisher continued to make an immediate impact, winning possession and driving forward down the right flank before releasing Boldewijn. Although the move ultimately came to nothing, the substitute's energy helped lift the home crowd.

Havant pushed forward in search of a late equaliser, repeatedly attempting to create opportunities down the left. However, Raynes remained alert defensively, making several important interventions to prevent the visitors from progressing into dangerous areas.

Deep into stoppage time, Asher Yearwood played Whittingham through the City defence, but Harvey Wiles-Richards produced a crucial save to deny the forward, although the offside flag was then raised.

After four additional minutes, the final whistle confirmed a 1–0 victory for Bath City, with Harrison Minturn named the Romans' Player of the Match.

Reflecting on the victory, the Scott Bartlett acknowledged the competitive nature of the encounter and praised the effort shown by both teams.

"We worked really hard tonight, both sets of players actually. I thought it wasn't the game of highest quality, but either team could've scored in that first half or the second half (...) It was an excellent win nonetheless."

Looking ahead, he emphasised the positive atmosphere within the squad and the importance of maintaining momentum.

"There's a good feel around the place and we need to just keep racking up the wins."

"We've made a really good start and it's a good group to work with."

Despite acknowledging the challenges ahead, the manager was determined to enjoy the victory.

"We've got loads of tough games coming up, but I'm going to enjoy that one tonight because that was really tough."