Wootton Bassett Town Under 18's fell to their first Wiltshire Youth Floodlit League defeat of the season as they were humiliated 6-1 by Chippenham Town.

With defensive anchor and captain Jonny Aitkenhead relegated to the bench due to his first team call up, Bassett appeared flat early on and the visitors took advantage, grabbing a 1-0 lead after slack marking allowed a Chippenham forward to run free and slot past Rich Hanley.

Phil Tearle levelled things up shortly after with a well placed effort from the left hand side of the box but the score didn't remain level for long.

Hanley looked as though he had smothered the ball at a forward's feet but the ball squirmed loose on a slick pitch and was poked home easily.

A third came shortly before the break as Bassett were caught by a ball over the top into the right corner. Sweeper Luke Watkins raced over to try and prevent the cross, leaving Dan Strange to fend for himself inside the box and he was beat to the ball after a low cross, which was followed by the simplest of finishes.

Bassett came out better in the second period and Matt Povey found the crossbar with a cross-come-shot just before the hour. Centre midfielder James Baker also narrowly missed but the relatively little service provided to Tearle and Tom Marchment upfront meant few other chances were crafted.

The final 15 minutes saw Bassett push an extra man forward, with Aitkenhead coming off the bench to fill that role. He forced a low, diving save with a well struck free kick but that was the closest Bassett were to come to reducing the arrears.

Chippenham on the other hand found it easier with one less man to beat at the back and netted three more times before the end, all three goals coming from balls played into the corners with the defence playing more central. They overloaded the box with runners and Hanley was rendered helpless to stop the score from inflating.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Wednesday 30th December 2020 at 21:57