After a slow start to the season, Royal Wootton Bassett Town Under 13 Blue had powered up the North Wilts Legue Division Two table to sit joint top with Highworth Town Juniors J. With a game in hand, today's home game against Highworth was the definition of a top of the table clash.
Playing a Highworth side that were understandably high on confidence, it was important that Bassett made a strong start to the game and they did this in some style. After dominating early exchanges an excellent through ball from Henry Greenouff was picked up by Alex Greenouff, who rounded the keep and passed the ball into an open net.
Two strong teams largely cancelled each other out for the rest of the first half. Alex Greenouff and Charlie Brooker linked well on occasion but were not able to fashion significant chances.
At the other end of the pitch Highworth pressed but a strong backline of Ollie Maslin, Henry Greenouff and Ewan McGeachie looked to be firmly in control. Jude Turnbull encapsulated the tenacious Bassett approach at the end of the first half with a series of crunching tackles to break up the Highworth attack.
The second half continued in much the same way, Toby Buck was installed at left back, which pushed Henry Greenouff into midfield. Both sides struggled to create significant chances, with Jasper Bianco shooting powerfully from range while the effervescent Aleks Goralczyk showed some neat touches.
The game changed with 15 minutes remaining as the ever-dependable Charlie Davis made a world class stop to prevent Highworth from equalising.
Just as Highworth were starting to build sustained pressure Alex Greenouff then doubled the lead for Bassett. Receiving the ball wide on the left, Greenouff cut in and hit a ferocious drive from 20 yards which gave the 'keeper little chance.
Highworth continued to press but the two-goal lead made the remaining minutes more comfortable. Ewan nearly capped his man of the match performance with a late third after breaking from midfield but could not manage to force the ball into the net.
It has been a remarkable run from Bassett, and with only a handful of games left they will be hopeful of claiming one of the top two league spots to earn promotion to Division One for the first time.
Credit: Deane Greenouff
Last modified on Monday 6th March 2023 at 18:48
