London Road, 2nd February 2013

In his comments to the press before this weekend's clash at leaders Brimscombe and Thrupp, Wootton Bassett Town boss Dave Turner emphasised that he didn't foresee the match as a potential title decider.

Nonetheless, a decisive 2-0 victory for the home side increased their lead at the summit to seven points.

And while that can be cut to a solitary point given the two games in hand over their rivals, the season is quickly winding down, with the championship shield now arguably Brimscombe's to lose.

For Bassett there is increasing pressure too to make sure they retain second spot, with reigning champions Tytherington Rocks now on the march.

Despite little separating the two sides going into the game, suspensions which ruled out Craig Bowden and Richie Saunders meant Bassett were always going to be up against it on their visit to the leaders. In their place came Paul Carson and assistant manager Andy Brien, with manager Turner unable to call upon any reinforcements from the bench.

Brimscombe deservedly won, scoring first on 25 minutes through Mike Beckingham before doubling their advantage ten minutes after the restart as Matt Green scored.

Now for Bassett the heat is on. With an immensely talented squad, it would be devastating if the team were to miss out on a return to the Hellenic League Premier Division.

One thing going in their favour though is the resiliency and willingness to battle that has come to define Bassett during the Turner era. His charges will now need to call upon those qualities in the coming weeks in order to make the promotion dream come true.

Last modified on Monday 22nd June 2015 at 23:38