Mark James' first half goal helped Royal Wootton Bassett Town pick up a hard-earned point as they drew 1-1 away against Brackley Town Saints.

While it took a strong defensive effort to get over the line, Royal Wootton Bassett Town stretched their unbeaten record against Brackley Town Saints to seven games as they claimed a 1-1 draw away in Northamptonshire.

Defender Mark James had given Bassett the lead eight minutes before half time, steering in after a corner fell to him in the box.

But Brackley, as is typically the case when playing against them, enjoyed a great deal of possession and also created a number of chances in the opening half. However, with Bassett diligently keeping their shape, 'keeper Charlie McCready was only called into action on a couple of occasions before the break, the majority of opportunities the hosts fashioned resulting in shots missing the target.

They eventually made their pressure tell five minutes after the restart as James Watts found the net.

Yet though the remainder of the game followed a similar pattern to that in the first half, Brackley were only able to register one more shot on target, coming via the boot of George Ball.

That meant Bassett were able to secure a valuable, deserved point on their travels against a dangerous, youthful Saints team who have enjoyed a fine start to their season.

In fact, Bassett are only the third team to have avoided defeat in the early stages of the campaign against Brackley, who, given the fact they have a settled, quality squad that has now played together for a number of years, are justifiably viewed by many as a dark horse in the race for the top spots in the Hellenic League Premier Division.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Sunday 23rd September 2018 at 11:25