Hereford Leisure Centre, February 1st 2003

Bassett stumbled to yet another defeat in the Hellenic Premier League, after a poor second half performance cost them dear as they lost 2-0 to Pegasus Juniors, after a decent first half showing.

Bassett were the team who were on top in the first half and gave Pegasus a shock early on as Nick Tooley's effort was well saved by Matt Taylor after a Mark Simpkins corner.

Pegasus had their first chance of the game in the fifth minute, Neil Hotchkiss hit wide from Matt Gray's ball.

Bassett again got on the attack and Stu Lamont rose above everyone but headed over another Mark Simpkins corner. Nick Tooley had another scoring chance for Bassett on ten minutes but hit over from just inside the box.

Tooley had yet another opportunity six minutes later that again came to nothing. In the eighteenth minute, great work by Dave Jones and Justin Hyde put Danny Clayton through but Clayton's shot was saved by Taylor in the Pegasus goal.

After twenty minutes Bassett were clearly the team on top and Stu Lamont saw another header go just wide from yet another Mark Simpkins corner.

Pegasus' second real attack of the game came in the 22nd minute when Gavin Stone's shot was well saved by Bassett 'keeper Rich Stevens.

Bassett regained the initiative again and Rob Hopkins hit wide from just outside the danger area in the 24th minute from a free kick that fell loose.

By this time the match was beginning to get a bit niggly.

Bassett nearly took the lead before the break when Dave Jones' header was headed clear; the ball fell to Paul Patel whose shot was well saved.

During injury time Neil Hotchkiss had a chance for Pegasus, but it was squandered.

Bassett Manager Pete Yeardley said before the break, 'You've got to score when you're on top.' That summed up the half; Bassett were on top but just couldn't stick the ball in the back of net. Pegasus were to make Bassett pay for wasting so many good chances.

The second half was a very different story from the first as Pegasus gained the initiative.

Bassett started off brightly when a Mark Simpkins' long range effort was saved on 51 minutes.

In the 55th minute Rich Stevens denied Gavin Stone but Pegasus were now well on top. Seven minutes later Neil Hotchkiss scored the first goal of the game after capitalising on poor Bassett defending.

Bassett pushed for an equaliser and Gary Ashford was put through by Dave Jones a minute later but Matt Taylor denied Ashford. Nick Tooley had two further chances for Bassett after that; his first shot was saved and then he hit the post from a free kick.

Bassett then brought Mark Hammond on for Rob Hopkins seeking the elusive equaliser. Hammond made an immediate impression when a volley from the edge of the area was saved by Taylor.

Pegasus remained on top and created numerous chances. They were denied twice by great Rich Stevens saves.

Ten minutes from time Bassett brought Neil Bridges on for Gary Ashford as they continued to search for an equaliser. Bassett made another change two minutes later bringing Justin Hyde off and Steve Yeardley on but Pegasus killed the game off five minutes from time when Delwyn Kwers scored from an Adriano Girolanni ball.

Bassett pressed to get one back before full time but never really looked like troubling the 'goals for' column – the best chance in the final moments falling to Danny Clayton who hit wide.

Bassett slumped to yet another defeat but could have scored about five in the first half. Once again, lack of quality finishing when Geoff Swatton is not available let the team down.

Bassett will try to get back to winning ways on Tuesday when they face league frontrunners North Leigh at home but this will be very tough, as will the forthcoming games against Highworth, Didcot and Yate.

Manager's Man of the Match: Rich Stevens

Scoop's Man of the Match: Brian Kayll – just ahead of Rich Stevens. Kayll encouraged from the back and was the only Bassett player looking to put a tackle in in the second half.

Scoop Rating: 6/10 – A good first half showing but Bassett didn't take their chances. A disappointing second half in contrast to the first – poor defending and lack of fight lost Bassett the game.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Wednesday 2nd September 2020 at 10:10