Sunday 16th November 2008 - Highworth Town Juniors 'T' (A)

Following the disappointment of last week's result when the boys received no justice for their fantastic performance, this was to be a thoroughly satisfying return to winning ways against a diminutive Highworth side. Kicking down the hill in the first half, it was important that Bassett made the advantage tell from the word go and this they did with several flowing attacks inspired by the strong running of Ben on the left. Declan Cox, too, was making the defenders nervous and it was one of his moves that brought the first goal. A powerful move from him into the box caused the ball to fall to George who, unmarked, slid the ball into an empty net: 1 – 0

Good passing from the Bassett midfield and attack began to emerge and Highworth barely had a sniff. Beckham was a strong presence throughout the match, particularly as the boys in blue surged down the hill in this first half and, following a lovely passing move, he took a chance with a delightful lob and was rewarded with his second goal of the season: 2 – 0

James now came off the bench for his debut and promptly got the ball in the face – a shocking start to his Bassett career! He slotted in well despite this and made several telling passes, going close with a long range shot into the bargain.

Highworth then had a short spell of pressure which ended with a dangerous shot beautifully saved by Isaac, taking his turn between the sticks. The defence were solid when brought into action, both Scott and Harry showing developing confidence in snuffing out opposition threats. George was, once again, always looking for the killer pass forward but also tracked back when needed.

Bassett ended the first half as strongly as they began it with repeated attacks on the Highworth goal and it was only fair that our third goal was slammed home by Declan Cox after good work from the entire midfield and forward line: 3 – 0

Half Time: 3 – 0

Declan Coffey took up the gloves in the second half, showing the willingness of this team to put themselves in the firing line for the cause. With no regular goalie, it just has to be a team effort. Isaac, now up front, made some strong attacking runs and Ben continued to work very hard to find an opening. Although the corner count was considerably down on last week, George found the sweet spot each time he took one, with noone quite able to finish things off.

A free-kick was then awarded to Bassett and Declan Cox's powerful shot caused panic in the Highworth defence, so that one player's hands grabbed at the ball to give away a penalty. Isaac stepped up and was unlucky to see his attempt scream inches wide.

Ben was a constant threat down the right however, and he was rewarded with a goal when he surged through a gaggle of defenders to practically run the ball into the net all on his own: 4 – 0

The advantage of the hill had been barely used by Highworth but when a rare attack developed, it was used to great effect with a strong run and shot resulting in a well-taken consolation goal: 4 – 1

Bassett were not to be stopped, however, and attacks up the hill continued just as before.

Ben had a super run and shot repelled by the Highworth post before Declan Cox put the cap on a tremendous performance with a well-taken second which sneaked in at the near post just before the end: 5 – 1

Man of the match – Declan Cox: Another very strong attacking performance, showing a willingness to look for great passes as well as shots on target. Two excellently taken goals were just reward for his efforts.

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