Rylands Way, 23rd October 2007

The cliché police will want to arrest me for saying this, but it has to be said: Bassett's Floodlit Cup encounter with Hellenic Premier pace setters Flackwell Heath was certainly a game of two halves.

Things looked fine and dandy at half time with goals from Phil Tearle and Shaun Terry giving Bassett a shock lead. The second 45 saw Flackwell Heath knocking on the door early and often. Myron Ramsey – unmarked - then equalised 62 minutes in, firing in on the turn from Jonathan Montgomery's cross.

The scores remained tied thanks to the bar and Adam Miller.

Firstly, with 16 minutes left Nick Jackson sent a shot on the bounce crashing off the bar after a Ramsey flick on. Four minutes later Jackson had another chance, thrashing a 25-yard effort towards the top left corner but Miller parried wide with an acrobatic tip.

Matty Bennett nearly produced Bassett's second after a run down the left from the middle of the park. He cut inside his man in the box and let loose from 15 yards but narrowly missed finding the top right corner.

The implosion followed shortly. With seven minutes left Justin Hockley crossed from the left, it wasn't cleared and Montgomery fired in the loose ball with ease.

Ramsey saw two efforts thwarted moments later, the first a fine, low save from Miller before Rich Gee slid in to clear a lob of the 'keeper off the line and out for a corner.

Gee quickly turned from hero to villain though. The resulting corner was hacked about the box without being cleared and eventually went back to the taker Jackson. His progress was impeded by the defender and a penalty awarded, which the Heathens captain duly dispatched.

With a minute to go Jackson added his second and his side's fourth. Ramsey cut inside Steve Yeardley on the left and squared the ball back to Jackson. Without taking a touch, the midfielder ripped a 25-yard thunderbolt into the top right corner past a helpless Miller.

The scoring was finished a minute later after nobody appeared willing to clear Steve Hale's low free kick from the right wing. The ball bobbled around, into Miller's hands and out again after contact with one of his own defenders, and eventually Ramsey tapped in at the far post.

All this made the scoreline suggest a rout, a thrashing, but it was far from being such a thing. In the end, missed chances in the opening period were what Bassett were left to rue, along with the collapse in the final ten minutes.

They had taken the lead quarter of an hour in when Phil Tearle, taking advantage of his first start for the first team, controlled a Bennett cross from the right with his knee and blasted in from close range to give the youngster his first goal at this level.

The lead was extended 32 minutes in as Terry bagged his sixth in four games in Bassett colours. Bennett was once again the creator, running down the right flank before supplying a good cross. Terry took a superb touch, cleverly waited until 'keeper Carl Dennison had committed himself and smashed home with his left boot.

Chances continued to fall Bassett's way and it could well have been the hosts taking a four goal advantage into the interval. The best of the other chances fell to Terry moments before the break when he connected to a Tearle cross with a diving head from 10 yards. However, it wasn't powerful enough and Dennison made a somewhat comfortable take.

With the second half whistle things changed, and in some style. All culminating in another dramatic cave in from the Rylands Way outfit.

Man of the Match: Matty Bennett – roasted his man in the first half and supplied both goals. Also came close in the second half and had the ball ended up a few inches to the left the outcome may have been different.

Performance Rating: 4/10 – Bassett were playing at their best in the first half but the second half saw things change, and change they did. Poor marking led to two of the goals whilst the failure to clear their lines had a hand in two of the others.

Last modified on Monday 22nd June 2015 at 23:38