Kilkenny Lane, 23rd November 2002

10 Man Bassett Town earned a well-deserved draw against high flyers Carterton Town despite key refereeing decisions going Carterton's way for most of the match. Two goals from Geoff Swatton earned Bassett one point with Carterton twice coming from behind to deny Bassett all three points.

Pete Yeardley's men started off brightly when in the third minute Geoff Swatton coolly lobbed Carterton 'keeper Nick Heritage after good build-up play by the Bassett midfield four.

Carterton quickly got back into the game when Bassett failed to clear a Carterton attack and a shot from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection past Steve Hale in the Bassett goal.

Carterton were quickly put back on the back foot when super play by Mark Simpkins and Geoff Swatton set Swatton up but the attack eventually came to nothing.

Carterton looked the more likely to score though as they had a string of corners, but these were wasted. Carterton kept the pressure on Bassett for most of the half, having numerous chances, including one that Danny Clayton cleared off the line for Bassett.

However, against the run of play, Bassett regained the lead just before the break when Paul Patel fed Geoff Swatton the ball and Swatton grabbed his fifth in two games with a perfect shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Carterton made a change during the break bringing ex-Pewsey Vale player Mark Jordan on.

Both teams started the second half brightly having a couple of chances each – Geoff Swatton nearly grabbed his second hat trick in two games but he shot straight into the 'keepers hands in the 47th minute.

Bassett were harshly reduced to ten men in the 63rd minute when Luke Sharps was judged to have pulled a Carterton striker's shirt on the edge of the area; the striker having fallen to the floor and Sharps was sent off by the referee after consulting his assistant. A gross injustice but a worse decision was to follow.

More drama followed when in the 70th minute Mark Jordan fell to the floor in the box claiming Stu Lamont pushed him and the referee gave Carterton a penalty. Before the penalty was taken Steve Hale was booked by referee Barry for time wasting. The penalty was scored despite Hale going the right way.

Bassett made their first and only change in the 76th minute when Paul Patel was brought off due to a pulled muscle and Justin Hyde replaced him.

Both teams looked for a winner but neither team managed to find the net again.

Bassett came closest when Geoff Swatton was put clean through by a Dave Jones ball but, with tired legs, his shot was scuffed and went wide of the goal.

Bassett were happy with the point after a spirited performance despite having ten men on the pitch for half an hour.

Managers Man of the Match: Mark Simpkins

Scoop's Man of the Match: Danny Clayton – clearly his best performance so far this season. He was getting stuck in and put some good balls in for the strikers from the right wing. An excellent performance from him.

Scoop Rating: 8/10 – A brave, hard working performance made the more difficult by having ten men for half an hour. A good result which could have been better with more luck.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Wednesday 2nd September 2020 at 09:14