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Wootton Bassett Town came within three minutes of forcing Hellenic Premier Division side Shrivenham to extra time but Dave Toomey's late goal ended all hopes of an upset.
Both sides had been reduced to ten men when Toomey struck as Bassett took the game to their opponents who didn't look that much better than their One West foes.
Shrivenham looked good on the break early on, but failed to turn their large number of counter attacks into chances.
Bassett were the team who had the best of the early openings as Stu Hemsley forced a save from Daryl Simms six minutes in before a Matty Bennett volley from 12 yards was well held by the ex-Bassett 'keeper in the 23rd minute.
However Shrivenham took the lead with a brilliantly taken Tom Fila goal seven minutes before half time. Chris Flanagan played the ball to Fila from the corner and Fila struck a first time effort from 30 yards which Adam Miller did well to get a hand to. However it wasn't enough as the ball trickled into the back of the net.
Andy White almost equalised immediately. Jon Davis picked out Chris Mills down the left with a pinpoint crossfield ball. Mills then played a low cross across the face of goal which White slid in and managed to connect with but it wasn't enough as the ball rolled safely out of play.
Davis created another chance for White in the 45th minute but his weak effort from 10 yards was off target and cleared away. Moments later White cut the ball back from the byline for Nathan Hall who cheekily backheeled the ball towards goal but a deflection sent the ball wide of the post.
Shrivenham target Bennett rifled an effort over two minutes after the restart following a failed clearance of a Davis corner before Davis almost gave away a goal at the other end.
Davis gave the ball away after trying to run the ball out of his own box. The ball bounced around the face of goal before Tate Hulbert poked just wide from 10 yards.
With 53 minutes gone, Hulbert delivered a cross from the left which Mark Peters fired goalwards. The ball was scrambled off the line before falling to Fila on the edge of the area but his effort was deflected wide.
The first yellow card of the day was produced after this effort as Dwayne Quinn was cautioned after protesting he had been fouled.
Miller was forced into a fine save just before the hour as he was forced to tip over a Toomey cross from the right on the backpedal. The resulting corner fell to Peters whose free header was off target.
A Toomey foul produced the first red card of the evening and it wasn't even the Shrivenham hero who received his marching orders. Toomey was booked for dissent before Hulbert decided to chip in with his opinion and earning him a yellow card. Hulbert decided to continue with his rant at the referee who subsequently produced a second yellow. Hulbert didn't stop though as he continued to curse referee Smith as he trudged off the field.
Bassett immediately capitalised on this and equalised with just under twenty minutes left. Stu Hemsley whipped in a free kick from the right, which was turned into the net by Shrivenham defender Jon Peters past a flat footed Simms.
A rash foul on substitute Sam Lawro produced another booking for the home side as Danny Thomas was cautioned.
With nine minutes left Miller produced another fine save to bail his team out when he smothered Jon Peters' low pass across the six yard box before any Shrivenham player could pounce on the loose ball. Three minutes later a powerful Michael Silvanus shot was saved on the dive.
Bassett were reduced to ten men with five minutes left when Quinn received a second yellow for a dubious foul.
Two minutes later Toomey decided the game. The Bassett defence failed to clear despite being under little pressure and the ex-Highworth front-man raced in and stole the ball. After rounding a helpless Miller, he calmly slotted home despite the best efforts of Davis.
Terry Moore almost killed off the game as a contest in the last minute of regulation as his glancing header looked like it would loop into the top corner. However, Miller produced an acrobatic save, scooping the ball away when it looked as if he was going to be beaten.
Bassett were unlucky to lose the game as they took the game to their opponents. The downfall for the visitors was their tendency to overplay and the stray passes that resulted from this, killing a number of attacks.
However it was a great test and shows how far the side has come after the disappointing start made to this campaign.
Scoop's Man of the Match: Adam Miller – superb once again and could do little about both goals and did brilliantly to even get close to Fila's strike. Showed maturity beyond his years, commanding the defence well and showing good poise.
Scoop Rating: 7/10 – Were let down by their tendency to overplay but showed brilliantly against a side from a step above. If Quinn hadn't received a second yellow it would have been a totally different game and Bassett may have gone on and shocked their opponents.
Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Sunday 20th September 2020 at 15:00