The first point to raise, was the fact that Paul Garlic was asked to ref the game. I must say Paul did get some stick from the parents, who expected Paul to give a penalty against Bassett at some point through the game. Paul took the ribbing well, and took the whistle and ran onto the pitch. I must say that Paul has been the referee a few times now and is very fair, god that hurt, so Paul from everyone, "thanks". This was going to be a very interesting game specifically, on the back of the fantastic win on the day before.

From the off Bassett were on top, a great ball from Scott to Tyler who played in Callum M who passed to Sam, Sam turns and shoots, but its just wide. Then Lydiard break down Bassett's right, the forward finds the space to shoot form distance, Joe catches the ball. Tyler plays a good ball to Callum M, who crosses the ball to Arron who gets on the end of the cross, but the ball goes just wide of the post. Max is battling for every ball in midfield and also putting in some hard tackles. Bassett are on top and Lydiard can't clear their lines, Bassett wins a corner and Jake steps up. Jake hits a good ball into the box and Arron gets his head on the ball but the ball just travels wide of the target. Bassett are awarded a free kick, Tyler cracks the ball goal bound, Callum M jumps up and heads the ball goal bound, but again the ball is just wide of the target. The back four of Scott, Regan, Jack and Jake were strong in defence which has been the norm for the season. In fairness Lydiard attempted to play good football, but Bassett were too strong in all areas. Then out of the blue their coach had a go at Phil who was running the line, for an offside, well, as if it was going to make any difference! Fraser takes a knock and is replaced by Callum G. Callum is involved in the game straight away chasing a ball from Tyler down the right. Then the goal, a great ball from Arron into Sam, Sam shoots and scores, Bassett take the lead. Callum wins the ball on the left and runs at the Lydiard defence and gets the cross in, Arron gets on the end of the cross but the shot is saved. Fraser is back on and Max is off. Then Bassett's second, Arron again provides a great ball for Sam to run onto, Sam cool as you like chips the goal keeper, Bassett are now two up. Straight after the re start Bassett are awarded a free kick, Tyler takes the free kick and Arron traps the ball in his feet, he then passes the ball back to Fraser who cracks the ball into the back of the net. Bassett are now three up. Tyler plays a back heel to Callum M, Callum drives down the left wing and crosses the ball, Max manages to get on the end of the cross, but the ball is just wide of the target. First half, Bassett lead by 3 goals to 0.

Second half and we see some BIG changes to the team, the main being that Sam is in goal and Joe is on the pitch! Regan goes in for a big tackle and comes off worse and is replaced by Scott. Fraser wins the ball and passes to Max, Max shoots but the shot is blocked. Bassett are still on top and pushing Lydiard back, a great break by Fraser leads to Bassett's fourth. Fraser runs down the right side and crosses the ball; Arron picks the cross and taps the ball into the back of the net, a great goal. At this point most of the players were attempting to set Joe up with a goal, which was great to see. But then Lydiard break down our right, they shoot Sam dives to his right and pushes the ball out for a corner. The corner is cleared, Scott plays a good ball to Tyler, Tyler shoots but the ball is just over the cross bar. Then its Arron's turn to have a go at goal, Arron takes the ball off his chest and hits the ball in the volley, but could not find the target. It's all Bassett right now, Lydiard have no answers for Bassett's consistent attacks. Arron again in the action as he shoots from distance and hits the cross bar. Mean while our defenders are not in the game at all. Then the moment we all wanted to see, Joe is on the ball in the box, but could not find the time to shoot. Callum M is given the opportunity to shoot but again Bassett can't find the back of the net. Then I heard Andy shout change! Then the defenders went into Midfield and the defenders ran forward! This could be interesting!

Almost straight away Lydiard attack and break through our defence, the Lydiard attacker works the space well and shoots, the ball beats Sam and fly's into the top corner. The score is now 1-4. Due to the changes Lydiard look a little more on top of the game and Bassett pushing forward queuing up to score. A cross from Arron finds the feet of Scott, Scott winds up his right foot and Jack takes the ball away and attempts to score but the shot was saved. The last shot of the second half was fantastic, Jake received the ball from a back pass from Arron, Jake cracked the ball goal bound, the ball was travelling high and very fast and hits the cross bar and then the post but did not go in! What a shot. Final score 1-4 to Bassett.

Well the last league game of the season – bring on the County Cup Final. Sorry if I missed anyone but I did get a little confused with the volume of subs and all the changes. The lads did a penalty shootout which was a great way to end the game – and none of them missed.

Credit: Andy Walduck
Last modified on Monday 28th December 2020 at 20:20