Royal Wootton Bassett Town Over 50s fell to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of an accomplished Wales Veterans Over 55s representative side at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground in their opening fixture of the new season.

The Welsh team were out of their blocks in lightning fashion and were two up in only six minutes courtesy of a Mark Walker brace. His first goal on three minutes came after Bassett were carved open too easily on their right flank and the subsequent ball in was calmly finished by Walker. His second was similar but also aided by a deflection on its way past Bassett 'keeper Paul Boys-Stones.

The international visitors dictated the opening half hour and could have extended their lead several times had it not been for a combination of Boys-Stones' saves and defensive interventions. The Dragons finally closed out the opening thirty minutes with a third strike though. Darren Thompson drove at the heart of the Bassett defence who allowed him time and space to pick out the bottom right- hand corner for a 3-0 lead.

The home side did improve markedly after that as they gained a foothold in the contest with some decent controlled possession. Despite the upturn in Bassett's play they didn't create too many problems for the visiting goalkeeper. At the other end Wales continued to create chances but Boys-Stones in the home goal was equal to everything on target as he displayed excellent handling.

Wales only managed one more goal which arrived on 68 minutes. A clumsy tackle on the speedy Thompson led to a penalty which the same player duly dispatched for his second of the afternoon and a fourth for the visitors.

The nearest Bassett came to scoring was when Andrew Huggins found space in the area to fire home what he thought was a consolation goal, only to see it ruled out for offside.

Overall, it was a tough but useful test for Bassett in their first pre-season friendly. After a poor opening half hour, the home side competed well for the last hour against a good side. The game was played in great spirit, and we look forward to a rematch with "Disco" and the boys in Cardiff on a date to be agreed.

Man of The Match: Paul Boys-Stones. The goalkeeper made a number of good saves and his handling was assured throughout. His performance helped to keep the score line respectable.

Credit: Ceri Stephens
Last modified on Wednesday 24th August 2022 at 11:33