Tuesday 28th April 2009 - White Horse Juniors (A)

Bassett travelled to Calne to play White Horse Juniors for their final league match of the season. This was their third match in 5 days due the rearranged fixtures from earlier in the year. A win would have put Bassett back on top of the table and waiting on the result of the remaining fixtures to be played at the weekend.

Bassett got an early chance in the first minute as Beckham threw to Euan who passed to Callum, his curling shot being pushed away by the WHJ keeper. The next 5 minutes were fast and frantic as the ball travelled end-to-end with both teams playing passing football. On 5 minutes WHJ made a quick break and two passes found their forward bearing down on the ball, only for Beckham to make a timely covering clearance. Two minutes later WHJ got another chance when a long throw sailed over the Bassett last man only for the forward to hit a half volley just over the bar.

The Bassett defence was under the cosh and on 8 minutes another WHJ attack saw the ball hit the side netting from a shot from a tight angle. The deadlock was broken in exceptional circumstance. A WHJ midfielder pounced on a bouncing ball in the midfield and pumped a long shot forward, the ball looping over the out stretched arms of Conor and into the net. A minute later another long range effort from WHJ was well saved by Conor.

Bassett now started to get into the game and on 11 minutes Callum picked up the ball in midfield and passed through to Tyler, who cut inside and shot across goal to force a good save from the keeper. On 14 minutes Lewis made a through ball to Euan, who passed to Callum and then back to Euan, but unfortunately no space could be found to get the shot away.

As half time approached, Beckham picked up the ball in the Bassett area and ran the full length of the pitch only for his cross to be blocked and forced out for a corner.

Half Time: 0-1

The second half started at the same relentless pace that the first finished. On 8 Minutes Alanah broke up a WHJ attack, passed to Jordan who found Callum. A left foot shot was again well saved by the WHJ keeper. From the resulting corner, WHJ broke and quickly advanced into the Bassett box, the final shot just going over the Bassett bar. A minute later, in similar circumstances, a Bassett attack was broken up by the WHJ centre back. With composure on the ball and some tight control he beat two Bassett players and slipped a sharp pass into the path of the on-running forward, whose smart shot found the back of the Bassett net. Nil-Two WHJ!

The next fifteen minutes showed the fight and determination of the Bassett players which they should all be justly proud. A switch in formation saw Lewis pushed upfront with Tyler in search of the 3 goals needed to give them any chance of winning the league. The response was almost immediate as Lewis found Euan whose left foot shot was well saved by the WHJ keeper.

Two minutes later Lewis found Tyler running into the left inside channel. Tyler's first time shot was pushed wide by another good save from the keeper. The resulting corner was delivered right between the posts but unfortunately found no Basset head. A minute later another Lewis corner was this time met by the head of Jordan, only to be saved at the foot of the left hand post. WHJ quickly broke from here and found themselves 3-on-1 as they bared down on the Bassett goal, luckily the final shot went tamely wide.

On 19 minutes a long Bassett goal kick was controlled by Lewis, who passed to Tyler and then onto Euan. Euan knocked the ball back into the path of Lewis, who held of the challenge from the defender to slot the ball wide of the advancing keeper and inside the right hand post.

Straight after the goal Bassett broke again. The ball was passed through to Lewis whose strong shot was pushed wide of the post by a diving WHJ keeper. Two minutes later a cross field ball found Beckham whose long range effort was once again saved by the WHJ keeper. Even in the final minute Bassett didn't give up. Following a great 1-on-1 save by Conor, his long kick was controlled by Lewis who passed the ball to Tyler. Tyler's shot produced another fine save by the WHJ keeper down low at his near post.

Full-time: 1-2

Match Analysis: A very fast and enjoyable match to watch. WHJ were half a yard quicker and showed excellent first touch during the match but were only kept in the game by an outstanding performance from their goalkeeper. The Bassett team showed remarkable courage and character and deserved more than the one goal they scored during the last fifteen minutes of this game.

Player of the Match: Another excellent team display from some very tired players, but one person stood out. Today's POTM award goes to Lewis Ward for an exceptional performance and never say die attitude.

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