Bristol Bombers 2 v Bath
31st October 2026
SEMLA Div3
Final Score Bristol 8:6 Bath
On Hallowe’en, Bath travelled the short distance to Bristol for a local league game. With a squad of just 11 players and no recognised face-off, Bath were outnumbered by the full-size Bristol squad. University of Bath player Ian Scott made his debut, while the returning ‘OB’ Tanasen started for the first time this season.
After soaking up an early spell of Bristol possession, Bath got the ball into attack and played simple, but effective lacrosse. After a couple of well-worked moves led to shots on goal, Bath took the lead with a goal from Mark Lovett moving onto crease. Bristol equalised to make it all even at the quarter time break.
In the second quarter, Bath were playing up the not inconsiderable slope but continued where they had left off the first quarter. Scott restored Bath’s lead, taking a pass on the move from Johnluca Piva and slotting past the Bristol ‘keeper.
Bristol equalised again and then had a sustained spell of attack. The Bath defence kept firm and physically dominated the Bristol team. Big hits from one player were followed by another from a teammate. Andrew Manser in particular taking no prisoners. Winning a turnover ball, Piva waltzed his way out of defence before finding Alex George crossing the halfway line. The fast break was on, and the ball passed quickly through Mark Hoggan to find Si Griffiths to finish across the Bristol ‘keeper. Bath went into halftime with a 3-2 lead.
The message at halftime was for Bath to keep doing exactly as they were doing and the team carried out those instructions to the letter. Bath extended their lead when Scott made a terrific cut into space, received the feed from George and fired into the net. Bristol hit back soon after, but Bath held on to their goal advantage for much of the quarter. The defence held strong with slides coming from all directions, notably from Tanasen, while Sam White’s execution of a perfect ‘rusty gate’ check drew nods of admiration from the Bristol bench.
With just thirty seconds left in the third quarter, Bristol pulled level after their attacker avoided several challenges in front of goal. From the resulting face-off, Bristol won the ball and found just enough time on the referee’s stopwatch to score again and take the lead for the first time in the match.
In the final quarter, Bath faced an uphill battle, both in terms of the game and the gradient of the pitch. A couple of sloppy mistakes were punished by Bristol in quick succession. A brief window of hope appeared when Scott found George making the slowest, quietest cut onto crease to score Bath’s fifth, but Bristol soon restored their three-goal advantage.
With 17 seconds left of the game, Bath called one last tactical timeout. A plan was set in motion and duly executed. Piva ran from deep, his teammates clearing space in front of goal for him. He beat his defender and arrowed his shot hard and low. Bristol’s ‘keeper saved the initial shot but could only parry it to the waiting Hoggan to bundle one into the net and end the scoring at 8-6 to Bristol.
While the result was not in Bath’s favour, the team’s performance was very positive. Bristol fielded several players who regularly play in Division 1 and Bath matched them for long spells of the game.
Quarter scores
1st Quarter Bristol 1:1 Bath
Lovett
2nd Quarter Bristol 1:2 Bath
Scott, Griffiths
3rd Quarter Bristol 3:1 Bath
Scott
4th Quarter Bristol 3:2 Bath
George, Hoggan
Final Score Bristol 8:6 Bath
Scorers (Assists)
Mark Lovett 1
Ian Scott 2 (2)
Simon Griffiths 1
Jonluca Piva (2)
Mark Hoggan 1 (1)
Alex George 1 (1)
Referee(s)
Bristol