The boys travelled to Cricklade today in the North Wilts and District League Cup semi final, knowing that after last weeks defeat against Ferndale, the result of this game was more important than the actual performance. And this proved so.

The boys came away with a 2 nil victory against a battling Cricklade side with a less than vintage performance and now meet Ferndale in the final in what should prove to be an interesting encounter with both teams have won one league encounter each.

Bassett started brightly enough on a small tight pitch and should have taken the lead early on with Josh bursting down the right only to be foiled by a good save from the goal keeper, Bassett were finding joy down the right hand side with long probing balls from the midfield which were exploiting the lack of pace and space in defence, Josh should have scored after another run but hit the post with a left foot shot and from the resulting corner had a header cleared off the line.

Cricklade were having some joy themselves with long high balls through the middle for their pacey forwards to run onto. Fraser in goal was called upon on several occasions to come out smartly and smoother any danger. Bassett continued to create chances with Tom, Seb and Nick all going close, Cricklade actually had the ball in the back of the Bassett net, but was ruled offside. The midfield of Nick, Dan and Seb battled hard but on such a small tight pitch found space difficult to come by, however Bassett continued to create chance after chance with the woodwork saving Cricklade on numerous occasions.

The breakthrough finally came when a ball from midfield found its way out to Neil who then fed a superb through ball into the run of Tom ,who after beating a couple of players squared the ball to Josh who side footed the ball past the keeper into the net. The defence of Ellis, Harry, Jack and Cole all coped well with the through balls the Cricklade midfield put through and with Fraser in commanding form both in and out of his area Cricklade were restricted to only a few half chances, with the only real danger coming from corner kicks. The first half continued with Bassett still on top but lacking the second killer goal.

The second half started with Bassett now kicking down the slope, the boys carried on from where they left off in the first half and continued to dominate the game. With only good goal keeping and the woodwork once again providing assistance to Cricklade, Bassett could not increase the lead, but with the midfield now finding their passing range putting some good balls in for the front men to run onto. Dan and Ryan combining well on several occasions. The second and killer goal finally came midway through the second half when a ball from the left found Tom whose shot was blocked, but with the loose ball going out to Seb, who headed the ball back across goal back to Tom who finished with a shot under the goal keeper. Bassett continued to press forward but could not increase their lead, and with Cricklade only managing to play long balls through, the defence was rarely threatened and when finally the defence was actually breached Fraser was once again in top form to quash any real danger. With the final whistle bringing much relief to the Bassett contingent, the boys can now look forward to another day out at the County Ground.

But before that they have the small matter of the Wiltshire Cup Semi Final against a strong looking Melksham Town side as well trying to catch up on their league fixtures. A very difficult few weeks ahead and the resolve of both the squad and management is sure to be tested during this time, but with the support of the parents, the team can go from strength to strength.

Credit: Unknown
Last modified on Sunday 27th December 2020 at 16:17