City bounce back from Bradford defeat

Ten points separated the sides before kick-off, but a strong City side that featured three new signings, fought hard to end Histons four match unbeaten run.

The victory sees City move above Severn rivals Gloucester City into 20th place in the Skrill Conference North League.

City looked lively from the off and the first goal came in the second minute when Nelson-Addy latched on to a Williams throw before coolly laying the ball off to Nti who gave City the lead with a well-placed shot into the top corner.

Histon launched an attack from the restart and came close with a Sheppard header that whistled over the bar.

City began to take control of the game with their physical presence over powering Histon in key areas. New signing Aaron Brown was instrumental in winning the first ball and driving the team into the box. A good succession of passing led to a Brown shot from long range that tested the Histon goalkeeper.

City frustrated the home side forcing them to play long balls down the left flank that were swept up comfortably by Williams and Veiga.

The home side eventually began to settle with twenty minutes gone when nifty winger Lewis Taffe weaved into the box only to be denied by Deeney, who launched a counter attack which resulted in debutant Ramsey-Dickson going close from eight yards.

Aaron Brown should have extended Citys’ lead on 27 minutes when the ball fell to him in the box after a goal-line scramble, but his effort was saved well by the Histon goalkeeper.

City came under substantial pressure in the latter stages of the half with Williams clearing a shot off the line before Histon kept city in their box with three consecutive corners.

Grimes And Weir had an answer for every attempt and dominated the aerial battle, restricting Histon to one shot on target in the first half which was well saved by Veiga.

City started the second half brightly with Ramsey-Dickson breaking through to force a save with Brown heading close from the resulting corner.

The second goal came in the 50th minute when Williams broke from deep to find Nelson-Addy who cut the ball back for Nti to dispatch from six yards.

Histon bounced back straight away after an in swinging free kick fell to full back Zak Mills who prodded home from three yards out to reduce the deficit.

The goal sparked Histon into life and they came close through Dowie before Beckles header was cleared off the line by Deeney.

City needed heroics from Veiga to maintain their lead. First the City keeper saved brilliantly from Sheppard and then produced a fantastic double save to deny an equaliser with ten minutes remaining on the clock.

Carl Heeley bought on fresh legs in Ethan Moore and Steven Leslie in an attempt to seize back the initiative which almost paid off when Williams played Moore through who was denied at the near post with five minutes remaining.

Manager Carl Heeley praised goal scorer Daniel Nti and the three new signings:

“Danny stepped up and did very well today. He’s been working hard and I’m delighted for him. We are in trouble but there is a long way to go and we will scrap till the end. The three new faces have been a breath of fresh air and gave everyone a lift at the club".

He added “Brown was a man mountain today. Every time the ball went into the Histon box they couldn’t deal him, he was the most effective player on the pitch today.”

City will look to make it two wins on the bounce next Saturday when they host Colwyn Bay at Aggborough.

Match Report by Sean Shute - City Match Reporter