Kilkenny Lane, 28th January 2006

Wootton Bassett Town produced one of the cup shocks of the day as a solitary goal from Steve Bunting was enough to see of Hellenic Premier Division promotion candidates Carterton.

Bunting's effort just before the half, although well struck, was given a little help as ex-Bassett 'keeper Darryl Simms failed to keep the shot out despite getting a hand on the ball as it made its way towards goal.

Carterton controlled possession early on but were unsuccessful in penetrating a sturdy Bassett back line.

On eight minutes Chris Blakely pulled the ball back to Ben Border on the edge of the area. Border got off a weak first time effort that was easily held by Paul Hawkins.

Bassett were able to apply some decent early pressure thanks in part to good play by Justin Hyde, who was holding the ball up well and in the 23rd minute Richard Unwin fired a long range shot just wide.

On the half hour mark Kevin Lewis should have gave the home side the lead. Mark Threlfall squared to an unmarked Lewis. Hawkins quickly closed Lewis down and a weak shot from Carterton's top scorer was easily gathered up. Two minutes later Threlfall was booked for tripping.

With ten minutes to go before half time Bassett were unable to deal with a free kick and Threlfall pounced, putting the ball into the back of the net. However the linesman's flag cancelled the goal out.

Two minutes later Hyde had a half chance as he shot wide on the turn following a Stu Hemsley through ball.

Bassett were lucky to avoid going a goal down once more in the 40th minute when a low Tony Joyce corner was allowed to go straight across the face of goal. No Carterton player was able to get the final touch though.

With a minute to go before the break a quick break from Bassett produced the only goal of the game. After a solid tackle from Unwin to win possession the ball fell to Tom Messenger, who sent the ball into the right corner for Bunting to run onto. After beating Ryan Pratley, Bunting struck a shot from 25-yards that Simms managed to get a hand to but it wasn't enough to save the ball from crossing the line.

Eleven minutes after the restart Unwin was booked for encroachment. Ben Border's free kick took a deflection and sailed just over.

From the resulting corner, whipped in by Joyce, Border managed to get a head to the ball but Lee Marshall was able to block the ball on the line and clear away.

Bunting was replaced by Anthony McCusker on the hour, a minute before a powerful left footed drive from Ben Gascoyne was easily held by Simms.

In the 61st minute Hyde was booked for kicking the ball away before Threlfall shot into the side netting after latching onto a Pratley through ball.

Referee Turner's poor day continued in the 63rd minute as he sent Paul Burke from the dugout after Burke disagreed with a decision. A minute later Stu Hemsley was booked for dissent directed at an opponent.

With sixteen minutes to go Hyde nearly put the game away as he fired a low effort that was parried across the face of goal by Simms.

Carterton continued to pass the ball around with ease but, thanks to resilient defending, were unable to produce any clear cut chances in front of goal as Bassett held on for a deserved victory against a high flying Premier Division who didn't impress.

Scoop's Man of the Match: Lee Marshall – dealt well with the Carterton pressure along with the rest of the back three, clearing lines and making well timed tackles to snuff out attacks.

Scoop Rating: 8/10 – A great defensive performance thanks in part by Burke's decision to play Justin Hyde as a lone striker up front allowing more men to defend. Bassett were the better team for the majority of the game despite having possession for a lot less time than their opponents.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Friday 18th September 2020 at 10:26