Sunday 15th April 2018

A hugely successful weekend for Royal Wootton Bassett Town's youth teams saw the Under 15 Blues book a County Cup final place and three teams edge closer to sealing honours.

Treble hunting Under 15 Blues into County Cup final

The Under 15 Blues' Wiltshire Cup tie away against Trowbridge Town Youth Lions was a dramatic one.

Bassett trailed by a goal with quarter of an hour remaining, but were able to equalise through Ben Cardus. Then, with two minutes to go, they were awarded a penalty which Daniel Warre, showing immense character after earlier missing from the spot, tucked away to seal the win.

North Wilts League rivals Castle Combe Colts, who the Blues have seen off twice already this season, await in the final, which is set to take place next Sunday at Melksham Town (1.30pm kick off).

The result also means the treble is still a possibility for the team, with the league crown within Bassett's sights and a North Wilts League Cup final place already booked.

Under 13 Blues all but seal title

The Under 13 Blues are now all but guaranteed the North Wilts League Division Two title following a 3-0 win away against Highworth Town Juniors T. Joshua Griffin, Taiga Matsushima and Jacob Rendell-Haines grabbed the goals.

Second place side South Cerney can now only hope to match Bassett's current points total, which would require the Blues to lose their three remaining games.

Bassett can make mathematically certain that they will finish in top spot if they draw their game on Thursday away against South Cerney.

Title hopes still alive for Under 12 and 15 Yellows

Keeping their title challenge on track were the Under 12 Yellows, who put ten goals without reply past Division Four basement dwellers Lydiard Millicent Juniors.

Should they win their game in hand, Bassett will draw level on points with current pacesetters Ramsbury Youth. Third place Lydiard Youth Spartans are still in the mix too – and they have Ramsbury to play.

Wins in their remaining three fixtures will therefore guarantee Bassett at least a share of top spot, which would mean a playoff for the title.

Facing fourth place Ashton Keynes for the second week in a row, the Under 15 Yellows recorded a convincing 7-2 victory. Scoring for Bassett were Callum Flay (2), Tom Warren (2), Noah Beech, Jack Timbrell and Cameron Wootten.

That wasn't enough to guarantee them a top two finish in North Wilts League Division Three, as Stratton Youth kept their narrow hopes alive with a 4-3 triumph against third place Swindon Supermarine J.

However, while Bassett's celebrations will have to wait at least another week, Stratton's win added a further twist to an intriguing run-in, perhaps even rekindling Bassett's title hopes.

Supermarine, meanwhile, are third, eleven points behind Bassett with five games in hand. Yet they now have slightly less room for error if they're to climb to the summit before the season's end.

Under 12 Girls, Under 16 Blues and Under 18 Yellows win big

Also victorious this weekend were the Under 12 Girls, who defeated Westbury Youth Allstars 12-0. Top scorer Poppy Wannell proved unstoppable as she scored seven, while teammate Darcie Little struck four times. Darcy Cox completed the scoring.

The Under 16 Blues recorded consecutive wins for the first time this season. And they did so in style with arguably their best performance of the campaign in a 6-1 triumph against second place FC Calne.

Joseph Price led the way with a brace, while Michael Christmas-Boulton, Benjamin Evans, Zachary Jackson and Sam Singha also chipped in, with Bassett severely denting Calne's Division Two title hopes in the process.

Continuing the trend of big victories were the Under 18 Yellows, who moved up to fourth in Division Two with a 10-2 thrashing of Tetbury Town. Joe Mitchell spearheaded their effort by scoring six, with Callum Bridges, Ryan Cinnamond, Luke Saunders and Jamie Rathbone also contributing goals.

Despite defeat, Under 18 Blues still in the mix

In a vital top of the table encounter, the Under 18 Blues fell to a 3-1 loss away at Malmesbury Victoria Youth Development.

Despite possessing a game in hand, Bassett now trail Malmesbury by five points. The teams meet again in Bassett's final game though, so the Blues can still hit the summit. To do so would require them to finish the season with three straight wins.

Meanwhile the Under 14 Yellows were beaten 6-2 by Ramsbury Youth.

Last modified on Sunday 15th April 2018 at 16:30.