Royal Wootton Bassett Town were finally rewarded for an impressive, resilient display as Jonny Aitkenhead's side drew 1-1 away at high-flying Westfields.

Bassett went into the match on the back of three straight losses - including consecutive 2-1 defeats in games against Tuffley Rovers and Droitwich Spa in which they more than merited a point.

On this occasion Bassett got the positive outcome that their endeavour deserved. And, rather than feeling unfortunate to come away empty handed, this time Aitkenhead and his team will feel as though they merited all three points having been the better side throughout a tense contest.

The opening quarter of the game had seen relatively little goalmouth action.

But Bassett were to take the lead on 27 minutes. The visitors were the beneficiaries of a mix up between Westfields 'keeper Shay Sterry and two of his defenders, who all sought to deal with a big Lewis Clark kick and collided with one another. That gifted Finn Hopkins an open goal as he scored for the first time since rejoining with the simplest gift of a finish.

Westfields continued to struggle to break down Bassett's young defence, which - marshalled superbly by Player of the Match Harry Messenger - were superb throughout the match.

Aitkenhead's side seemed energised by the goal too. And they were unlucky not to head into half time two to the good, as a superb acrobatic save from Sterry diverted a Marcel Lewis free kick from the left edge of the box that seemed destined for the top corner over the bar.

Bassett came out in a positive mood following the restart and brother Otis shot narrowly over with the first chance of the second hallf following some neat combination play.

However, Westfields levelled on the hour, Bailey Fuller firing into the bottom corner after Bassett failed to clear from a corner.

Bassett looked the more likely of the teams to find a second though. Shortly after conceding, Kassa Anderson used his strength to fashion an opening but shot wide before Marcel Lewis fired straight at Sterry after beating two. Bonsa Teshome then headed over with fifteen minutes to go.

As was the case last week against Droitwich, Bassett would finish the game with a man advantage after Zac Powell received a second yellow card in the final minute of the 90.

There was still time for one final chance to win it when Anderson found himself one-on-one but could only shoot wide.

While unable to snatch all three, Bassett can certainly be content with this draw. Westfields' AllPay Park is never an easy ground to visit, with the hosts banging on the doors of the playoff places at present.

Results elsewhere - notably Cribbs' win against Fairford Town - do mean that Bassett slip a place to 18th in the standings.

Yet their performance against Westfields was yet more evidence of the team's ability to compete with most sides in the division. And it came with a valuable, much deserved point.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Saturday 11th October 2025 at 22:07