On the anniversary of the D-day landings, Royal Wootton Bassett Town's Over 50s Dads Army were defeated by Goring Old Boys storm troopers 3-2.

The home side enjoyed the best of the first half but it was actually visiting Goring who came closest to taking an early lead. A powerful snap shot from just inside the area was goal bound until Stephens launched himself to his right to turn the effort aside with both hands for a corner.

Royal Wootton Bassett over 50s hit back with chances of their own . Tim Lewis had a low shot saved by the 'keeper's leg and had another couple of efforts, one of which was superbly turned over by the busy goalkeeper within the opening half an hour. Rob Mitchell was also inches away from applying a finishing touch from six yards out and Eddie Stephenson was out of luck from distance as Bassett pressed hard.

In general, Basset's midfield of Wood, Stephenson, Purcell and Keep gave an energy to the home side who had several other half chances that either went just off target or too near the Goring custodian.

Goring still carried a threat and Stephens had to punch clear under pressure before a Goring player fired the loose ball over the bar.

In general, the defensive four of Gleed, Jack, Smith and Parr contained the visitors with good tackles, headers, clearances and positioning. Indeed, right back Tony Gleed made a vital intervention to prevent his side going behind when he turned a testing low centre behind to safety with a Goring forward breathing down his neck at the far post.

Despite their best efforts, a familiar story played out on 30 minutes to send Goring ahead. A wide man dribbled into the box and crossed low towards goal. Stephens dived out to get a hand to the ball but could only look on in despair as the ball popped up perfectly for a Goring man to stroke home from point blank range to give the away side a 1-0 advantage.

Bassett hit back quickly. Steve Lynch (on for Tim Lewis), seized on a goalkeeping error to calmly side foot the loose ball into an unguarded net to level things up at 1-1.

Before Goring had restarted, Bassett 'keeper Stephens came off with a muscle injury and sub 'keeper Sean Boyle was called into action 10 minutes earlier than expected.

Unfortunately Bassett were unable to see the first half out and a quick break from Goring resulted in their right winger cutting into the box to lash past Boyle at his near post to restore their lead before half time and against the run of play.

In the second period Webb, Currier and Keep featured prominently as Bassett tried to launch a comeback. All three played their part with Roger Webb providing good width and service from the right flank, Kev Currier competing strongly and ruffling the Goring feathers on several occasions, and Ted Keep driving at the Goring backline and popping up in the penalty box to supplement the attack . Their efforts were complemented by the tireless efforts of central midfielders Stephenson and Wood who broke up play and pulled the strings for Bassett in the middle of the park.

For their part Goring gained greater control in the match and started to create openings. Fortunately Sean Boyle dealt capably with long range efforts from free kicks and open play and was pleased to see an angled drive hit the side rather than the back of the net.

Eventually the pressure told as a right wing cross found the Goring number five unmarked to power a header down into the bottom left hand corner to extend their lead to 3-1 with around 25 minutes left on the clock. Managerial duo Paul Gardner and Darren Hayes reshuffled their pack to bring back on Lynch in midfield and Fisher up top for the final 20 minutes.

Bassett gave everything in the closing stages and despite some dubious offside calls and a decent penalty shout when Ted Keep was causing problems in the area they got some late reward. Steve Fisher collected the ball fully 30 yards out from goal and in keeping with D-day he hit a bombshell which exploded into the top right hand corner for our goal of the season.

The same player also managed a diving header on target in the dying moments but the visitors just about managed to see the game out and hang on for a narrow 3-2 win.

To sum up, a monumental effort from all 16 players who played a part. Special mention to player manager Martyn Purcell who has appeared in every game this season, and always works his tail off for the team, on and off the field.

Ultimately we came up short, and in the season as a whole, but what a fantastic experience it has been in our first league campaign. And we all know we are getting better.

On to next season, where I am sure we will fight them on the beaches and never give in!

Man of the Match: Ted Keep - his non-stop effort at the age of 69 is an example to us all. Unlucky not to earn a penalty late on.

Credit: Ceri Stephens
Last modified on Monday 7th June 2021 at 09:04