Meadow Lane, 8 March 2022

Royal Wootton Bassett Town were unable to stop Westbury United's stunning charge towards a potential promotion place as Bassett were beaten 2-0 away in west Wiltshire.

In a closely fought game with limited chances at either end, Westbury triumphed courtesy of a pair of second half goals, with the hosts seeing out the final ten minutes with ten men.

What was a wide open battle for second spot behind leaders Bishops Cleeve in the Hellenic League Premier Division has, in recent weeks, seen Westbury claim status as clear favourites for that position.

Going into their contest with Bassett, they had lost just once in their previous 22 league fixtures, with just five points dropped from the last available thirty.

They were therefore favourites to win this clash - but Bassett put up a solid fight before two set piece plays determined the game's outcome.

Bassett could claim to have shaded things in the opening period, though Westbury did threaten with a direct style of play that forced the visiting defence to be on their toes.

And Westbury had the best chance of the first half when Callum Demkiv headed just wide ten minutes before the interval.

Westbury then struck the first blow five minutes into the second half. Bassett failed to deal with a long throw into the box and after a goalmouth scramble Harvey Flippance was able to bundle in a scrappy goal.

Despite by no means being a pretty finish, given Westbury's promotion charge it was an important one.

And with twenty minutes left, they doubled their advantage as Ronnie Frost emphatically headed home from a corner.

That goal should have made certain of victory. But late pressure from Bassett as well as a red card for Dan Price for a second bookable offence made for some nervous moments as time wound down.

Substitute James Johnson, who enjoyed another impressive cameo, forced Westbury 'keeper Mark Bowden to be alert before the home shotstopper was forced to steer an Alan Griffin free kick around the post. Alfie Presley then came close, firing narrowly over after cutting in from the left.

Bassett were unable to find a way through though, allowing their Wiltshire rivals to hold on for the win and move within five points of guaranteeing themselves a top two finish with five games left to play.

For Bassett, the result keeps them 13th in the table, a point behind Hereford Lads Club having played the same number of games and five behind Fairford Town with one match in hand.

Sam Collier's side will therefore need a strong haul of points in their final four games of the season and for results elsewhere to go their way if they are to finish higher than their current placing.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Wednesday 9th March 2022 at 08:30