Thursday 2nd June 2022
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Under 13 Blue enjoyed an incredible first season in North Wilts League Division One. A year after earning promotion as Division Two champions, Bassett lost just twice in the league during the 2021-22 season as they ultimately earned a runners-up finish.
Four wins and a draw against champions Swindon Supermarine Youth White over the course of their final handful of fixtures proved enough for the Blues to claim second place from FC Calne Youth by a single point and Robins by two in an extremely competitive title fight.
Bassett made a great start to life in Division One as they picked up seven points from their opening three fixtures. After FC Chippenham Youth Panthers were beaten 4-1 at home, the Blues shared six goals with Robins, the previous season's runners-up, in a thrilling draw before thrashing Ramsbury Youth 6-1 at home.
A 4-2 loss away at Stratton Youth was the first setback Bassett faced. But the team bounced back in style – and a five game unbeaten run meant the Blues were top at Christmas. First, FC Calne Youth were seen off 5-1 before victory by the same scoreline on their away visit to FC Chippenham. Bassett then once again stood up to Robins, earning another draw against their opponents, with the teams this time drawing 1-1. Following a 6-2 triumph at St Andrews Scarlets, Bassett then edged out FC Calne 3-2 in their final game before the winter break.
Those results meant Bassett held a share of first place, being level on points with FC Calne (though holding a crucial game in hand) and sitting two points ahead of Robins.
At this point Supermarine were five points back. But they would soon eat into that disadvantage, prevailing 1-0 against Bassett after the Blues had recorded a pair of convincing wins (5-1 and 10-2) in back-to-back fixtures against Purton Youth Spartans.
With five games remaining and three other teams fighting them in the battle for a top two finish, Bassett knew there was little margin for error. But they duly delivered.
A 4-0 away win at Ramsbury was followed by a nailbiting victory by the odd goal in seven at Wims 11 Foothills. After surviving that scare, Bassett hit thirteen without reply at home against Stratton Youth, before following that with six unanswered goals in the return fixture against Wims.
That set up a tense, pressure-filled final fixture at home against Supermarine. The visitors were by now top and on course for the title. But Bassett needed at least a point to deny chasers Calne and to make things as tough as possible for Robins who had three games left.
A superb defensive display from the Blues helped ensure Supermarine clinched the title with a goalless draw rather than the win they were hoping for.
Crucially for Bassett, it left Robins needing to win their remaining fixtures to claim a share of second place. After gaining all three points in their penultimate game, Robins were then unable to see off Supermarine in their final match – a result that guaranteed Bassett their runners-up medals.
It was more than a deserved honour for the Blues too. Stepping up to a higher level, Bassett proved that they belonged and more, as they took points off all teams in the division. Defensively, the team conceded more than two goals on just three occasions. And their potent attack, which featured four players – Phanuel Asenso (17), Finlay Mowe (13), Sonny Parmaku (12) and Liam-Lye Owens (10) – who all reached double figures, meant the team were still able to register four points from that trio of games.
Last modified on Thursday 2nd June 2022 at 07:00.
