This week saw Wootton Bassett face Bemerton in a match which Bassett hoped would project them into the top half of the league. Both sides took the field in hopeful style and produced a first half performance which probably could best be described as scrappy.

Aside from a few early efforts which failed to trouble either keeper the game hung on a thread with neither side pressing home any real advantage and the half fizzled out to a mutually deserved 0-0 stalemate. The second half kicked off in similar fashion with both sides probing but the half time team talk seemed to have produced a bit more urgency on the part of the home team. Ten minutes in and with the score still tied at 0-0. Derek decided it was time to shake things up so he withdrew Kevin Reilly and threw on his first substitute Ben Jarret. Jarret made an immediate impact as he picked up the ball from deep and fed a killer ball to Dean Stonehouse who duly opened the scoring with clinical finesse. Bemerton came back strong and rocked the Bassett defence, but Yeardley playing a stalwart captains role marshalled his forces and repelled the Bemerton onslaught. Up stepped Stonehouse again, latching on to a hopeful forward ball as he raced forward to beat the advancing Bemerton keeper who could only watch the ball sail over him into his empty net. 2-0 Bassett. Game over?

After last weeks collapse which saw Bassett throw away a 2-0 lead against Chippenham in the last five minutes, Bemerton threw men forward in a desperate attempt to claw their way back into the game. Bassett wobbled and an infringement in the box from a corner won through incessant Bemerton pressure earned the Salisbury side a penalty. 2-1. Kelly having played a vital role on the right side of Bassetts defence was the next home change amongst a flurry of changes introduced by Bemerton. A Like for like change in an attempt to introduce fresh legs and fresh impetus to Bassett's stretched rear guard saw the return of Dave Yarwood as the Bassett management sought to steady the ship.

With the game on a knife edge Jarret once more produced a ball which found Stonehouse streaking down the wing. Paul Stonhouse was on hand this time to race into the Bemerton box and fire home a neatly placed shot into the bottom right hand corner of the Bemerton goal. 3-1 Game Over.

Credit: Unknown
Last modified on Sunday 22nd November 2020 at 22:40