Eynsham Park, Tuesday 9 March 2004

A Stivelle Cooper goal a minute after half time gave North Leigh all three points as Bassett's run of hard luck continues after a superb display against the high flying Oxfordshire side. Cooper's goal came after the Bassett defence switched off allowing him to strike the ball past Steve Bizley in the Bassett goal.

In the early parts of the first half the Bassett back four of Richard Gee, Rob Hopkins, Rich Willis and Andy Hallett defended strongly and denied North Leigh opportunities on goal.

Joe Burnell came close in the 19th minute when his 25 yard free kick rattled the crossbar as Bizley was caught off his line.

Bassett continued to contain the pressure put on them well and stern performances by Steve Bunting and Stu Hemsley in the centre of midfield helped throughout.

Going forward, Bassett found limited opportunities against their strong opposition and in the 27th minute the home side came close once more.

Cooper played a great through ball to Harry Burnley – who could have done better with his shot – forced an easy save from Bizley.

North Leigh's forward pair of Adam Hamp and Cooper became frustrated as the Bassett defence continually forced the pair offside.

Eight minutes from the break a Bassett attack stalled at the halfway line and North Leigh broke with another Cooper ball finding Burnley whose shot was saved easily again by Bizley.

A minute into the second half North Leigh took advantage of a mix up between Rich Willis and Richard Gee and Cooper ran through and struck the ball past Bizley who had no chance with the shot.

In the 50th minute great work by Geoff Swatton culminated in a shot from a tight angle being saved by Kevin Alder. Alder was again tested by Swatton two minutes later after Rob Hopkins played the Bassett forward through but Swatton's shot went wide of the target.

Stewart Bellinger had a great chance to level the game in the 56th minute when he took the ball round the North Leigh defence brilliantly but his shot one-on-one with Alder was tipped wide.

Alder again denied Bassett a sure goal with a fine save from a Geoff Swatton shot. Hemsley played Swatton through and a powerful right footed effort from Swatton forced an acrobatic save from the North Leigh shot stopper.

North Leigh had Harry Burnley booked in the 83rd minute before Bassett made two changes bringing Steve Yeardley – who could have been in Manchester watching Man Utd v Porto but had to sit on the bench for 86 minutes – on for Stu Hemsley and Chris Mills replaced Steve Bunting.

Andy Hallett was booked for Bassett on 90 minutes for a foul. Bassett tried to find an equaliser late on but couldn't find one. Now Bassett haven't won since November and are in desperate need of points. They were unlucky though not to get anything from this match.

Manager's Man of the Match: Ben Gascoyne

Scoop's Man of the Match: Steve Bunting and Stu Hemsley – played excellently together in the middle of the park and battled hard all game.

Scoop Rating: 8/10 – A great team performance which deserved something more than nothing. A great defensive display; the whole team worked hard all night.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Saturday 5th September 2020 at 12:43