03 Nov 2013 - Wickham Wanderers (A)

We ventured up the M4 to meet Wickham, eager to build on our excellent performances both in the cup and the friendly against Chippenham. With Josh still 'Stateside', Dan was drafted once more into central defence but the versatility in this squad is one of its great strengths and we looked excellent from the moment the whistle blew. An early cross from George floated tantalisingly into the box and, moments later, a sharp shot from Joe whistled past the post before a strong run on 4 minutes from Tom on the right ended with a great cross into the box where Charlie pounced to slot home: 1 - 0

Wickham then had a spell of pressure and Conor had to be sharp to gather a shot that could have taken the wind out of our sails. Callum then had a free-kick that he just skewed wide, before Ed was quick to clear at the other end with a strong head - at this stage it was end-to-end stuff. Then Lewis made a goal out of nothing - he found the ball at his feet just outside the area and , with nothing really on, simply harried and pressured the defenders around him until an opening was forced from which he could smash the ball home to double the lead: 2 - 0

Bassett then started to really play - lovely triangles being created all over the pitch as players put their hard work in training to good effect.Euan was controlling things in the middle with Jamie who soon took a daring shot from well out that only just flew over the bar before Lewis and Charlie both had further chances but the half ended without further score.

Half-time: 2 - 0

Wickham began the second half with determination and Conor had a couple of shots to deal with but it wasn't long before the Bassett dominance was reasserted. Our third goal was a lesson in perseverance with Tom's wide shot seemingly a dead ball to the left - Callum simply wouldn't give it up and snatched it from going out of play, dribbled in from the left and put in a devastating ball that Charlie was able to flick over the line with great skill : 3 - 0

Callum continued to impress as he firstly won , then took a free-kick from out on the left that he floated high over everyone to nestle with a satisfying sigh into the corner of the net to put the game beyond our hosts: 4 - 0

Wickham heads now seemed to finally drop and Bassett simply piled on the pressure, our players fighting for possession all over the pitch and it was no surprise when Tom powered forward again, slid the ball out to Callum who danced down the right, beat a couple of defenders and slammed in his second of the afternoon: 5 - 0

Our final goal was a fantastic solo effort from Tom who picked the ball up at the edge of his own area, ran the length of the pitch, brushing off tackles on the way and slid the ball past a despairing 'keeper to put the lid on the scoring for the day: 6 - 0

To their credit, Wickham didn't stop trying, but our defence were determined to keep a clean sheet, a great block from Zak being typical of the closing minutes.Ben was also strong in the tackle at key moments. Further shots from Joe and Dan and a tempting low cross from George hinted at a seventh, but the game finally ended with our players taking deserved applause for a great team performance.

Man of the match: The award today goes to a player who impressed both at the back and midfield , causing problems for our hosts throughout the match and scoring two great goals that finally put the game beyond them - Callum Bridges.

Coach's comments: A terrific performance from start to finish from all 13 players.It was very pleasing to get our first clean sheet of the season & score 6 goals as well.The boys played football when they could & were up for the battle as well which is what 3 of the goals came from as players refused to give up any ball.Well done boys.

Team: Callum Bridges, Euan Burke ,Jamie Byrom, Edward Fish (capt.) Lewis Cholod, Joe Fenton, Conor Chivers, Ben Croydon, Charlie Emmerson, Tom Miller, Daniel Hulse,George Staten

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