Wootton Bassett Town Under 12's played their final pre-season game against bogey side Malmesbury. Bassett travelled to the Red Bull keen to get a result against opponents who had now moved to the Cirencester & District League. An early goal from Phillip Tearle gave Bassett the start they were looking for and settled the nerves. In an entertaining half there were chances at both ends. Phillip Tearle going closest when he hit the Malmesbury bar. Just as they thought they would go in at half time leading 1-0, Bassett let a sloppy goal, when the defence failed to deal with a Sam Higginbottom corner.

In the second period, Malmesbury did not allow Bassett settle and at times Bassett found it difficult to hold onto the ball. It was no surprise when Malmesbury took the lead when the Bassett defence failed to clear their lines and allowed Michael Collinson in to score. Goal scoring chances were now few and far between as both sides struggled to come to grips with the strong wind and narrow pitch. However, one such chance fell to Jonny Aitkenhead and he fired home to put Bassett back on level terms, against the run of play. Bassett had lent Malmesbury a player due to the home side having just 10 of their own and it was the "on loan" player, Phillip Forster, who fired the home side into the lead 10 minutes from time. This was not to be the end of the scoring as Matt Purse fired another equaliser for Bassett following a corner which was not cleared by the Malmesbury defence. An entertaining game played in difficult windy conditions but with both managers needing to work on their defences in training before the season gets under way.

Man of the Match: Phillip Tearle

Credit: Mark Smedley
Last modified on Friday 20th November 2020 at 18:03