12 Sep 2010 - FC Calne 'B' (H)

On a warm a sunny September afternoon Wootton Bassett welcomed Calne to Ballards Ash for their first home league fixture of the season.

Although Bassett had a lot of the early possession the play was fairly even and there were no clear chances for either side.

On 7 minutes Bassett had their first chance when the ball broke down the right and Dec Coffey delivered the first of many lovely crosses into the Calne penalty area which was met by Dec Cox who pushed his volley just past the post.

A minute later Callum jinked through a couple of Calne tackles and made room to make a marvellous cross from the left which itself was only narrowly wide.

Calne had a good spell of play in the next couple of minutes and Ollie and Lewis had to be quick to close down the attacks. A smart Calne move down the right resulted in a shot into the Bassett side netting. Bassett broke back immediately and a neat pass from Jack sent Dec Coffey off on another super run down the right. The resulting cross was met confidently by Zach but straight onto the post and the rebound was pushed out for a corner. Callums delivery was met with a smart volley by Dec Cox which went narrowly wide.

On 12 minutes Lewis sent the ball thought the middle and some industrious midfield play between Ashton and Jack put Dec Cox through. Dec's powerful shot rattled the crossbar and bounced down onto the line but then safely into the hands of the Calne keeper, not quite crossing the line.

A period of consistent Calne pressure followed but Charlie, Lewis, and James stood firm.

Half time: 0 – 0

The second half started almost immediately with a Dec Coffey cross to Dec Cox. A neat pass here set Lewis off on a mazy dribble straight through the heart of the Calne defence and his shot flew past the diving keeper into the back of the Calne net. 1 – Nil Bassett!

5 minutes in a Calne attack resulted in a lofted effort which Connor confidently took care of. Seconds later some nice passing to feet between Matt and Zach put Dec Cox through and his great strike rattled the crossbar and bounced down onto the line once again. Calne immediately struck back fast down the pitch and a strong shot was saved by a diving Connor onto his post. Neither of these efforts managed to quite cross the line – end to end stuff!

Bassett pressure was building and on 10 minutes a good corner saw the Calne defence in all sorts of trouble and Ollie was able to push the ball home after a goalmouth scramble. 2 – Nil Bassett!

Minutes later Ashton and Matt linked to put Jack through and his great effort was saved by the Calne keeper.

On 20 minutes a long range Calne shot was pushed round the Bassett post for a corner. The corner ball was cleared but came straight back and a nice Calne passing move cut through the defence and the Calne strikers shot went just past an outstretched Connor into the net. 2 – 1.

Although Calne pressed for an equaliser Bassett looked up to the job. A great run down the left by Jack was neatly crossed onto the head of Dec Cox whose header was only just past the post.

On 25 minutes Charlie and Lewis worked to get the ball through the middle. Calne partly cleared the ball but it fell to James near the half way line who lobbed the ball back towards the Calne goal, the bounce carrying the ball over the head of the despairing Calne keeper and into the net. 3 – 1 Bassett!

A minute later a super Dec Coffey corner was met with a great Dec Cox volley into the net to increase the lead to 4 – 1.

Full time: 4 – 1

Coaches Match Analysis: Not the ideal preparation for today's game with a match being played on the pitch beforehand and then the non-appearance of the League appointed Referee. This lead to a very sluggish first half as we struggled to get into the game and were slow to react to situations. However after a quiet chat at half-time we soon switched on and scored a couple of quick goals and settled into the game and started to play some very nice passing football.

It was pleasing to see the boys ended putting a slow start behind them and rolled up their sleeves and work for each other to record another fine victory with Declan Coffey deserving of his POTM award for his excellent wing play and crossing throughout the match.

Player of the Match: The POTM did not stop running all of the time he was on the pitch, making some great runs and fantastic crosses into the danger area, but also tracking back and making some fine tackles to recover possession in midfield. An outstanding, energetic performance. Today's POTM award goes to Dec Coffey.

Squad: Connor Chivers, Matthew Nichols, Lewis Ward (Capt), Oliver Cameron, James Evans, Charlie Poynter, Ashton Fear, Callum Bridges, Declan Coffey, Jack Cowie, Declan Cox, Zach Bunce.

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