Royal Wootton Bassett Town Over 50s stormed into the quarter finals of the Oxfordshire Over 50s League Challenge Cup with a dominant display that saw them run out deserved 3-1 winners over North Leigh Red at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. Neither a late pitch change from artificial to grass nor the wet and windy conditions could dampen Bassett's spirits. Their win was rewarded with a home tie against either Goring United GOB or Bicester Town Colts in the last eight.
Bassett started in a 4-2-3-1 formation spearheaded by centre forward Andy Huggins who gave the opposition back line a torrid time all afternoon. Bassett got in the faces of their visitors early and exerted pressure through a high press which was backed up by strong tackling and good build up play. It wasn't long before the first home chances came along. Steve Lynch powered in a free kick from wide out on the left that crashed off the cross bar and from another set piece Steve Fisher curled a shot towards the top corner which the North Leigh keeper did well to claw behind for a corner.
The home side continued to dictate play and hit the front on 20 minutes when a good move down the left reached Rob Mitchell out wide. His slide rule pass into Huggins enabled the big man to go through on goal and slam high past the North Leigh 'keeper into the top left hand corner.
The lead was no more than Bassett deserved and they continued to carve out openings to extend their lead. Martyn Purcell tested the keeper from distance and the North Leigh defence had to work overtime to stay in the game. The Bassett back line coped well with the sporadic attacks from North Leigh. Their only worthwhile effort came on around 35 minutes when the right winger got into the box but his angled drive flew straight into the midriff of Stephens in the Basset goal.
The only other alarm for the home team came when Stephens handled outside his area as the ball looked to be bouncing over him. He was fortunate not to be booked and the free kick was wasted.
Bassett then added a second before the break to steady the nerves. Purcell's long driven centre landed in front of Mitchell, who reached it before the 'keeper and smashed the ball over him and into the net to push Bassett a giant step closer to the quarter finals.
The referee ended proceedings for the half when a North Leigh defender had to be carried off after suffering a nasty looking cut to his leg in an accidental clash with Steve Lynch.
Bassett came out for the second period looking to add further goals to put the game to bed and they had a multitude of chances to do so. Lynch was through on goal only to fire straight at the keeper then wide from his follow up effort. Mitchell, Chris Cooper and substitute Roger Webb all shot over when well placed and Lynch continued to misfire in front of goal.
Huggins showed them how it should be done on 55 minutes though. Lynch crossed from the right, Huggins controlled the ball, beat a man and slotted low past the 'keeper at his near post.
For the rest of the game Bassett continued to create and spurn chances and North Leigh huffed and puffed and grabbed one back with around twenty minutes left on the clock. A low cross in between goalkeeper and defence caused confusion in the Bassett back line and home centre back Bryan Watson poked it into his own net under pressure from a North Leigh forward at his back. It was rough justice for Watson who had superbly answered the call to deputise for the injured duo of Paul Jack and Eddie Stephenson.
Bassett saw the rest of the game out relatively comfortably and will surely fancy their chances at home in the next round.
Man of the Match: In an excellent team display Steve Fisher in central midfield stood out. He held his position in front of the back four. He won the ball regularly to break up any opposition threat and distributed accurately to keep Bassett on the front foot. Although outnumbered in central midfield, he and Chris Cooper bossed that area of the pitch and laid the platform for a convincing win.
Credit: Ceri Stephens
Last modified on Monday 7th February 2022 at 08:53
