23 Feb 2014 - Stratton Youth Blue (A)

We didn't have long to wait to try & get over the Cup disapointment as we made the journey to Cirencester to play Stratton Youth "Blue". On arriving at the ground the pitch was out in the middle of the strongest cross wind & we knew it was going to be a battle for both teams to play football in such conditions. We had Lewis Griffin in the squad after his transfer from Highworth but were once again without Tom & George & also had Charlie pull out through illness so once again were down to just 12 players.

It was Stratton who adapted to the conditions better & they had 2 corners in the first 5 minutes that came to nothing. The next 10 minutes were spent with both teams struggling to string any sort of moves together before a fantastic save from Conor after 15 mins stooped us from going a goal down.

We then started to get a foothold in the match & after winning the ball in midfield a cross from Callum went into the box & was narrowly missed by Lewis Cholod. A good run from Joe then saw Lewis Griffin nearly score with his first touch after coming on as a sub when the goalie made the save. It was very hard to get corners to stay in play due to the strong wind but it was the wind that assisted Callum's cross going into the goal to give us the lead after 25 mins.

The goal certainly raised our spirits & lewis G went close with a shot over the bar before Zak tested the goalie with a long range shot. We then started to pass the ball along the floor & a slick passing move just before half time saw Joe inside the 6 yard box with the goal at his mercy but rather than tapping the ball in it got stuck between his feet & out of danger. Half Time 1-0

The referee wisely didn't allow too much of a break & we started the 2nd half on the attack & a good move resulted in Lewis G's shot getting caught up in his feet. It was then Callum who twice broke through the Stratton defence but on both occasions he shot straight at the goalie when looking for precision rather than power.

We always had to be aware at the back & Conor was marshalling the defence of Zak, Dan, Ed & Ben well with Zak having a very good game. In midfield Lewis C, Jamie, Euan, Josh & Callum were now starting to control the game & when Joe broke from the half way line it took a superb tackle to deny him a shot at goal although Joe got injured in the process.

Stratton had 2 corners that were defended well & came to nothing as we went past 5 hours in the league without conceding a goal. Callum then put a great ball across the 6 yard box that eluded both Lewis's on 20 minutes. Our 2nd goal came on 22 mins when Josh made a great tackle on the half way line to pass to Callum who then passed it to Lewis G who in turn put Lewis C through on goal & he dispatched the ball into the bottom corner with great aplomb.

It now seemed for 5 mins that we had taken the fight out of Stratton & Ben was unlucky when his shot caught the wind. Stratton though then fought back & it took a great sliding tackle from Ed to stop a shot at goal & from the resulting corner Conor gathered safely.

A tackle on Lewis C on the edge of the Stratton penalty area after 28 mins saw Euan blast the free kick over the wall & into the top left hand corner to give us an un-assailable 3-0 lead. Once again though the home team refused to give up & a long range shot struck the bottom of the post & then Conor made a good save. At the other end Ben came close to scoring his first ever Bassett goal when after good work by Joe he shot narrowly wide.

As we looked to close in on our 5th consecutive league clean sheet poor defending resulted in Stratton scoring from close range after 34 minutes & ended our chances of another clean sheet. Both sets of players looked to be tiring & we then restored our 3 goal lead when Dan tapped in from 3 yards after good work by Ben after 37 mins. Amazingly the scoring still wasn't finished as we conceded a corner & 3 players at the front post left it for each other & the ball cannoned into the goal off Ben for an own goal. There was just enough time to start the game before the final whistle went & we had now made it 5 league wins on the trot & went into 3rd place in the table.

Player Of the Match: After narrowly missing out in the Cup game this award went to Zak Robinson who continues to improve with every game & his decision making was very good all game both defensively & going forward. Coaches Analysis: The boys stuck to their task well & didn't over complicate things in such difficult conditions. It was never going to be easy as Stratton have some very good players despite their league position.It also brought to an end 2 games played in heavy pitch conditions this weekend & I'm sure there will be some aching muscles.

Squad: Conor, Ben, Zak, Ed ,Dan, Josh, Euan, Jamie(Capt), Callum, Joe, Lewis Cholod & Lewis Griffin.

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