Sunday 25th January 2009 - Shrivenham & Watchfield (H)

It was back to league action this weekend for the U9 "A" Team as they entertained Shrivenham & Watchfield at Rylands Way.

The first action of the game came straight from the kick off as Tyler stole the ball from the S&W midfielder passed to Ryosuke who returned the ball to Tyler but unfortunately for him his shot was saved by Josh Jefferies in the S&W goal. (This is not the last time Josh will be mentioned)

There were no clear cut chances for the next five minutes as both teams settled down and tried to play passing football. On 6 minutes, a smart move from S&W saw their forward through on goal but Conor made a fine save at the feet of the opposing attacker. Bassett went straight down to the other end, Euan and Callum exchanged passes and the S&W keeper produced an equally good save to keep out Euan's shot.

A minute later Josh was called into action again. Jordan played Tyler through, Tyler's shot hit the post and bounced out to Ryosuke but just as he was about to shoot Josh dived to smoother the ball.

Bassett took the lead on 11 minutes when Tyler took the ball down the left, cut inside, his shot was saved but Ryosuke picked up the lose ball and unselfishly slotted it back through to Tyler who tucked the ball away from close range.

The Bassett midfield was slowly getting in charge of the game and both teams continued to play good passing football. Few chances were created as the tackling from both sides was very strong. As half time approached, there was a glut of goal match action. Firstly S&W conceded a freekick near the edge of their box. Euan's kick was tipped onto the post by the keeper and the ball cleared from danger. A minute later another Euan freekick produced another good save from Josh and the ball was cleared for a corner. Tyler met the resulting corner on the volley but instead of being "goal of the season" the ball unfortunately went just over the bar.

Half-time: 1-0

Three minutes into the second half Lewis picked up the ball and passed down the touchline to Ryosuke. Ryosuke worked hard to evade two tackles and sent in a low cross which was met by Callum whose shot went into the side netting. A couple of minutes later Callum picked up a lose ball on the edge of the area but again his shot went just wide.

S&W then had a spell of continuous pressure on Bassett but couldn't convert the pressure into a goal due to some timely Bassett defending. Eventually S&W did get a shot on target which produced a fine save from Conor. The ball rebounded to Jordan who cleared down field to Callum. Callum's low cross was met by Harrison to score from 5 yards.

On 11 minutes Bassett extended their lead. A cross from Ryosuke found Callum close in on goal at the back post, Callum knocked the ball back across the area and Harrison met it on the run for his second goal of the game.

Bassett were now in control. The defence was strong and organised, the midfield passing the ball and the forward line a constant danger. On 18 minutes Lewis broke up a S&W attack, passed to Jordan who took the ball wide and squared it for Callum to hit a first time shot which was saved by the S&W keeper.

S&W never gave up and still pressed forward in search of a deserved goal. A freekick from just outside the Bassett box looked to be goal bound until Conor dived to push the ball wide.

As the final whistle approached, Alanah won the ball with some fierce tackling she laid off a short pass to Jordan, who carried the ball 20 yards before shooting just wide from the edge of the S&W box.

Deep into injury time Alanah won the ball again, another short pass to Jordan and then a smart pass found Tyler free in the S&W area to shoot into the roof of the net and make it 4-0 Bassett.

Match Analysis: An extremely enjoyable game of football to watch. This was a perfect example of both skilful and physical football. Both teams played passing football and yet competed for every lose ball and committed to every tackle. The turning point of the game was the Bassett second goal when several minutes of S&W pressure was soaked up by the defence and midfield and then a quick breakaway goal was scored at the other end

Player of the Match: Another great team performance with every player making considerable contribution to the win. Today's award went to Lewis Ward for an all round Captain's performance. Steadfast defending, effective use of the ball and a constant source of encouragement for his fellow team mates.

Last modified on Monday 22nd June 2015 at 23:39