Bassett reserves finally met Malmesbury Vics in the Ghia Junior Cup First Round replay on Saturday. The two previous meetings this season between the two clubs have both resulted in a draw. On a pitch that was wet and very heavy both teams found it difficult to play much attractive football. Although Malmesbury adapted to the conditions quicker than Bassett, it was Bassett, through Burke, Ball and MacLeod, who came closest to scoring, and good play by Twine in the Bassett goal kept Malmesbury at bay. The teams left the pitch at half time with the score at 0-0.

The second half began with Malmesbury growing in confidence, and having adapted to the conditions better, took the lead after about 15 minutes from the restart. Up to this point Bassett had found it difficult to keep pace with Malmesbury, but going 0-1 behind seemed to be the boost Bassett needed, Only then did Bassett begin to play the football that should have been played from the kick-off. The team was working a lot harder, were a lot more aggressive and pushed Malmesbury well into their own half and some good saves (coupled with a little luck) by the young Malmesbury keeper denied Bassett a goal, until about 10 minutes from the end when a scrambled ball in the Malmesbury goal area was finally stabbed into the net by substitute Russ but the referee noticed some infringement and disallowed the goal. The final whistle came with Bassett trying desperately to take the game into extra time, but to no avail. A disappointing first half performance by Bassett but a spirited second half display with captain Dixon playing a particularly good game in defence.

Credit: Unknown
Last modified on Tuesday 17th November 2020 at 21:30