Tuesday 11th May 2021

The twentieth anniversary of a 0-0 end of season draw away against Letcombe may not seem like the most notable of occasions upon which to remark. But for Wootton Bassett Town Reserves, the result ensured they completed their 2000-01 Hellenic League Division Two West title-winning campaign without suffering a single league defeat.

The side, managed jointly by Pete Yeardley and Paul Burke, recorded sixteen victories and just six draws as they romped to the title, finishing eleven points ahead of nearest challengers Almondsbury Town.

It was a remarkable, rare accomplishment that added further gloss to a superb season for Bassett's senior sides given the first team's triumph in the Wiltshire Senior Cup that same year.

Even more remarkable was where Bassett came from in the 2000-01 season.

In 1999-2000, Bassett's second string had recorded a seventh-place finish in Division Two, losing 15 games and winning just nine.

But, a year later the Reserves got off to a solid start and just kept going from there.

They recorded victories by the narrowest of margins in their opening two fixtures. Away against Quarry Nomads in their opener, Syd Jackson scored the only goal of the game, before Simon Edwards and Jack Dodd scored to secure a 2-1 home win over Easington Sports. Their perfect start then continued with a 4-0 hammering of Clanfield at Rylands Way, as Edwards led the way with a brace.

Bassett first dropped points in a tricky away fixture against Old Woodstock Town, who held their visitors to a 2-2 draw thanks to an equaliser deep into stoppage time.

But it was quickly back to winning ways at home against Letcombe as three goals without reply secured a convincing victory.

Jack Dodd and Simon Green then scored in a 2-2 home draw against Almondsbury before another quick return to winning ways was made on a soaking day at Middle Barton as Martin Cooper grabbed the only goal of the game.

Bassett could not seal the double over Quarry Nomads though, with the Oxford based visitors – who included a handful of first team players – snatching a point at Rylands Way after Jackson's fifth of the year had earlier given Bassett the lead.

Consecutive league victories were then recorded for the first time since the start of the season.

Nine-man Brackley Town were put to the sword in a 5-0 thrashing, which featured goals from five different players, before Kidlington were disposed of by the odd goal in three courtesy of strikes from Steve Howse and Justin Hyde.

Despite these results though, things remained tight at the top, with two points separating Bassett from third place Old Woodstock.

And Bassett were unable to separate themselves further when they drew 0-0 against Wantage Town – a side they had convincingly defeated in the cup earlier in the season.

That result did not dent Bassett's confidence though. Indeed, they followed it with a lengthy winning streak.

This began at Clanfield where goals from Jackson and Hyde secured a narrow 2-1 victory before Middle Barton were hammered 4-1 at Rylands Way, with an Edwards hat-trick doing most of the damage.

A lengthy away trip to Brackley saw Bassett return with all three points - courtesy of Jackson and Hyde strikes, as well as a clean sheet. And a convincing 5-2 win over Old Woodstock pushed the reserves eleven points clear at the top by the end of February.

The odd goal in five was then enough to secure three points at Milton United before a solitary Hyde strike separated Bassett and hosts Kidlington. After that, a 2-1 victory against Easington increased the gap at the top to 14 points. At that point only fourth placed Almondsbury could catch Bassett, meaning the title was very much in the bag.

The foot was not taken off the gas though, and Bassett remained unbeaten to finish the season.

An eighth straight win was recorded as Edwards' double and a further Jackson goal saw off Wantage 3-0. Then, facing a tough test away at Almondsbury, Bassett's winning run was brought to an end – but their unbeaten record remained intact as they ground out a 0-0 draw.

A resounding 4-0 win was recorded against Milton followed in their final home league outing before another stingy defensive performance – and an impressive display from 'keeper Jason Hillier – at Letcombe meant Bassett's final record was an unblemished one.

The Invincibles had done it.

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A full record of the Reserve team's historic campaign, including results, scorers, the final league table and matchday programmes, can be found in the archive section of our website here.

Last modified on Tuesday 11th May 2021 at 09:06.