Monday 14th May 2018
Three Royal Wootton Bassett Town sides aim to seal honours this weekend, with the Under 15 Blues in the North Wilts League Cup final and the Under 12 Yellows and Under 14 Blues in league playoff action.
Under 15 Blues
Having already lifted the Wiltshire County Cup, the Under 15 Blues will be aiming to secure a second knockout success of the season – and also win the North Wilts League Cup for the third time in four seasons.
In their way stand Swindon Supermarine R, with the game taking place on Saturday at the County Ground (12.05pm kick off).
Supermarine's pair of narrow victories over Bassett in the past couple of weeks saw them seal the Division One title. However, Bassett have beaten them in the cup already this season, defeating them 4-0 at the quarter final stage of the County Cup.
The final therefore promises to be a high-quality game between their age group's two best sides.
Bassett have arguably had the tougher route to the final, but still have conceded just once in the four games they have played.
Malmesbury Youth Tornadoes were seen off 4-0 in the opening round, before Division One rivals FC Calne were thrashed 7-0.
That set up a quarter final tie away against Castle Combe Colts – who Bassett would go on to beat in the County Cup showpiece – and an 8-1 triumph secured safe passage to the final four.
There, against Highworth Town Juniors T, a nail-biting contest would be decided by Billy Saunders' snap strike in extra time.
After a bye in the opening round, Supermarine booked their final place by defeating Chippenham Town Youth (3-1), Ferndale Rodbourne (5-1) and Cirencester Town (7-2).
Under 12 Yellows
Victory in their final league game of the season against Croft Junior Red secured the Under 12 Yellows a one-off playoff against Ramsbury Juniors for the North Wilts League Division Four crown.
The title race has been a thriller, and it's therefore fitting that another game – to be played on Sunday at Ramsbury (10.30am kick off) - is required to determine its destination.
Third place Lydiard Youth Spartans also played their part. However, defeat against Ramsbury in their final fixture ended their hopes of finishing top.
That result also meant Bassett had to triumph against Croft to force a playoff, and they did so in some style, winning 6-3.
The win was the Yellows' fifth in a row since a 1-0 loss against Cirencester Town Gladiators in February, which itself was only their second defeat of an outstanding first campaign of competitive football.
Their only other loss came in November at home against Ramsbury, who triumphed 5-1. However, Bassett inflicted a 3-1 loss on them in the return fixture at the start of February, and so the playoff promises to be an exciting clash.
Ramsbury's only other defeat was at the hands of Lydiard Youth, who Bassett did the double over.
Under 14 Blues
Also facing a playoff are the Under 14 Blues who square off against FC Chippenham Youth White for runners-up spot in North Wilts League Division One.
The game is set to take place at Stanley Park, Chippenham on Sunday (12pm kick off).
Both teams have identical records of twelve wins and four defeats from their sixteen games. They also split their season series against one another. Chippenham triumphed 8-2 in their opening encounter back in October.
However, Bassett prevailed 5-2 in the return contest in March, with James Johnson firing a hat-trick in that game. They also met in the League Cup first round, with Chippenham winning 3-0.
While that might give Chippenham confidence, Bassett have been in outstanding form, losing just two matches – both against runaway league winners Swindon Supermarine J – since the middle of November.
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Best of luck to all three teams as they seek to end what have already been successful seasons on a high.
It would be great to see as much support for them too, cheering Bassett on to what we hope will be a trio of victories!
Last modified on Monday 14th May 2018 at 08:30.
