This would be the third time the Bassett Bee′s had played Shrivenham & Watchfield, in Cup and league, and the Bee′s record so far was good, with 2 wins out of 2. They took to the field full of confidence which showed right from the kick off with lots of good passing movements and runs up the wings by Dec and Matthew.

Several good crosses went a begging but eventually when the Bee′s won a corner after 12 mins Matthew whipped in a great ball which Josh volleyed in for a 1 nil lead. More good attacking moves from Callum, Josh and Dec which unfortunately came to nothing.

The Bee′s were now being pressurised by the Shrivenham & Watchfield forwards, especially their number 11, who kept Teddy and Jack Watling busy. Tom in goal made two fine saves at the feet of their number11 to prevent them scoring in the first half which ended 1-0 to the Bee′s.

Half Time Wooton Bassett B 1 Shrivenham and Watchfield 0

Against the wind and the slope the Bee′s made a good start to the second half with Callum having a good shot stopped by their keeper. Then Shriven ham and Watchfield started to attack with the wind at their backs sending in long balls which Tom dealt with very coolly and calmly.

Jack Clark came on for Callum and blended into the attack immediately and made some good runs linking up with Theo who had replaced Matthew. Again their number 11 got round the back of the defence and Tom came out to narrow the angle forcing him to shoot wide of the mark.

George came on to help Teddy in defence and they thwarted every attacking move thrown at them With a couple of minutes to go Shrivenham won a series of corners but the Bee′s were playing well as a team with everyone helping out in defence

Then the unthinkable happened. From the last corner, with seconds to go, a Shrivenham and Watchfield player hits a desperate shot at goal which Tom seemed to have covered only to see the ball take a deflection for a most unfortunate own goal. The final whistle blows and the result is a draw which in no way reflects what should have been the true result with the lads being robbed blind for the second week in a row.

However the lads can be proud of the fact that they have taken 4 points out of 6 from Shrivenham and Watchfield as well as beating them in the Cup. The Bee′s defence was superb which was proven by preventing their number 11, who scored 54 goals last season, from scoring Without suffering some outrageous bad luck in the last 2 weeks I′m sure that the Bee′s would now be on top of their League.

Final score Wooton Bassett B 1 Shrivenham & Watchfield 1

This game showed a marked improvement in the lads passing and ball control with a lot of good runs and attacking moves. I feel that they need more players in the centre to take advantage of some excellent crosses. From my vantage point behind Toms goal the lads also need to be more aware of the opposing forwards getting round the back of the defence especially down the right flank. Their concentration and stamina were also greatly helped by Pod′s half time Jaffas!!!

Credit: Unknown
Last modified on Sunday 27th December 2020 at 17:48