THERE was no Roman conquest for Chippenham this season. Thanks to the efforts of plucky Welsh outfit Merthyr Tydfil on Saturday, there was no promotion party for champions-elect Bath City either.

Instead, the 2,004 fans who packed into Twerton Park for this bank holiday Monday were treated to perhaps the most unspectacular local derby in recent memory.

Some of the passing was woeful, the finishing from both sides inept, and the entertainment factor virtually non-existent.

Not that it mattered a jot to the Bath City fans.

When referee William Bull blew his whistle for the final time the home crowd erupted in unison to acclaim a Southern League double over their fierce rivals.

They seemed to draw extra pleasure from the fact the winning goal was scored by one Martin Paul - the man who only four months ago was planning a promotion push with Chippenham.

The three points moved Bath to within touching distance of the Premier Division crown, and left Chippenham with plenty of work to do to reclaim their play-off berth.

Bluebirds boss Adie Mings, himself a former Bath player, appealed for calm from his players ahead of this eagerly-anticipated clash.

What he got was a performance so lethargic in the mid-afternoon sun it almost sent the crowd to sleep.

Chippenham finally woke from their slumber deep into second half stoppage time, but Alan Griffin volleyed high into the stand with the goal at his mercy.

"I think the lads were mentally tired," said Mings afterwards.

"We've put together a great five game winning streak, but today we looked like we couldn't take it over the edge.

"I think a draw would have been the fair result. I don't think there were any really clear-cut chances, apart from ours at the end.

"Alan Griffin has got to be scoring those chances. Alan knows he should have done better, but he's been superb for me in the last few matches. I told him not to beat himself up about it."

Griffin's wayward volley aside, the visitors created little in front of goal all afternoon. Their best effort came courtesy of centre half Kevin Halliday, whose 30-yard free kick stung the palms of Bath gloveman Paul Evans.

Halliday was one of Chippenham's best players and would have been a contender for man-of-the-match had he lasted the full 90 minutes. Instead his derby was cut short when the fastidious Mr Bull dished out a second yellow card and gave Halliday his marching orders with five minutes to play.

The first booking came after only nine minutes as Halliday struggled to shake off the attentions of Paul, who was out to prove he could still cut it at Southern League level.

The free kick went Bath's way and Halliday kicked the ball away in disgust before talking himself into Bull's notebook.

That set the tone for a scrappy first half in which Chippenham spent the majority of the time pumping aimless long balls deep into Bath territory.

The league leaders offered little more in the way creativity, although they did come close to breaking the deadlock on several occasions.

Paul headed over the crossbar from a Lewis Hogg cross after 14 minutes before central defender Chris Holland nodded high and wide from Jim Rollo's free kick.

Another set-piece from the Bath skipper caught Chippenham goalkeeper Chris Snoddy in two minds, but thankfully for the visitors Ross Adams was on hand to clear Holland's goalbound header.

Snoddy atoned for his error soon after when he made a fine diving save from Mike Green after Adie Harris and Paul had combined on the edge of the penalty box.

Chippenham were made wait until three minutes into the second half for their first strike at goal. Dave Gilroy's pass found Kye holly breaking from midfield, but his left-foot shot rolled harmlessly into the arms of Evans.

Gilroy was also guilty of failing to test Evans after 59 minutes when his near-post header thudded into the advertising boards.

After Chippenham unconvincingly cleared a long Steve Jones throw, the Bath midfielder launched another high ball into the Bluebirds box.

This time Scott Rogers got the faintest of flicks and Paul's scuffed strike from three yards somehow found its way over the goal-line.

Halliday's long-range free kick was tipped behind for a corner, but Chippenham carried their greatest threat after their central defender had been sent off.

A long throw from substitute Tom Etheridge was missed by skipper Iain Harvey, and when the ball broke to Griffin six yards out the striker blazed high over the bar.

Griffin's finish summed up Chippenham's afternoon, and gave the Bath fans even more ammunition for a summer of mockery at the expense of their rivals.

Said Mings: "Bath City play with six centre halves in their side, four across the back and two in midfield.

"They've also got the best goalkeeper in the league and that gives them a good platform to build from.

"Offensively they cause sides problems, but it's no coincidence they will win the league when you look at the number of clean sheets they've had."