30 Oct 2011 - Robins (A)

This week's match saw Bassett take on top team Robins, who are to date this season unbeaten, winning their last 3 matches 5-1, the players knew they were in for a tough test.

With Bassett's confidence dented following last weeks defeat at the hands of Greenmeadow, the coaches worked hard before the start to get the players in a positive mindset.

The match kicked off and Robins were straight away on the offensive, with some great passing and movement that Bassett were struggling to match. And it was after some good build up play that Robin won a corner and following a great delivery Robins headed strongly into goal. 1-0.

This was followed by a period of extreme pressure from Robins with at one point 8 corners on the bounce, but Bassett learning from the mistakes of the first goal stood firm, with some great defensive work by Nat and Charlie.

Emerging from this period of pressure it was time for Bassett to get more control of the ball and this resulted in some better attacking play, but a slight lack of concentration allowed a shot to come in from distance which found it way past James and into the goal. 2-0 and 7 minutes played.

At this point the players could have given up, but as we have seen before, that's not what this group of players do, digging deep into their characters, these lads were not going to roll over and accept defeat. Every tackle, every pass, every run off the ball was made with real meaning and enthusiasm. Joe played the captains role, running the midfield and setting up Bassett's attacks, as well as stopping Robins playing through the middle. Nat and Charlie tackled with great commitment and as always looked solid, James Y kept working hard with some great runs off the ball creating space for others, his recovery runs today and his determination was first class. Chas was asked to do a difficult job and mark Robin best player out wide, a job he shared with James A and they both did excelled at. Billy was asked to do something which isn't his natural game today, and hold the ball up and bring others into the attack, He played this role brilliantly and his effort and work rate were exceptional, he was unlucky not to get the reward of a goal when his shot hit the crossbar, there was a real strong suspicion of a foul on him in the area for a penalty, and a couple of shots were saved well by the keeper.

Robins chances were being snuffed out further up the pitch and for periods they were under real pressure at times.

The second half continued much as the first had ended, there was great football from both teams, and it really was entertaining to watch. Despite the bumpy pitch Bassett were passing the ball well, and on a couple of occasions were threatening on the break away. James T showed the fruits of his endeavours today, twice coming out and smothering the ball and then towards the end making a fantastic full length driving save to deny Robins a goal. It eventually took a great move from Robins to score the only goal of the half and the match ended 3-0.

Today's match wasn't about the results, it was about the performance and efforts the lads put in. Not one Bassett head went down, and not one Bassett player criticised another, and even being beaten 3-0 didn't mean anyone left the pitch not smiling. A lot of teams should learn from this! Well done lads, Robins knew they had been in a game today you made them work hard to win, be proud!

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