A George Cook double helped Royal Wootton Bassett Town knock off second place Thornbury Town as Jonny Aitkenhead's side continued their impressive form of late with a 3-1 away Hellenic League Premier Division victory.

On a windy afternoon Bassett were forced to come from behind, but were worthy winners in the end as they climbed a place in the table to sixteenth.

Thornbury took the lead midway through the first half when Arron Sweete caught Harrison Edwards dwelling on the ball before releasing Callum Chalmers for a simple finish past helpless debutant 'keeper Max Connor.

However the hosts were ahead for only a handful of minutes.

Quickly making up for his lapse in judgement, Edwards threaded a through ball into the right channel for Ed Taylor to run onto. Taylor then rode a sliding challenge from Nathan Sage before getting to the byline and cutting back for an unmarked Cook who swept home from close range.

Edwards was involved again when Bassett went ahead on the hour mark. Doing well to control a pass arrowed out from the back by Louis Spalding in the middle of the park, he showed great skill and strength to shrug off the attentions of half time substitute Keanu Miller. He then fed Cook on the right who did the rest, cutting inside left back Ash Fowler before coolly steering into the bottom left corner.

Minutes later Cook almost turned provider as he set an overlapping Ollie Smith free but Thornbury 'keeper Mackenzie Welsh pulled off a fine low save to deny the marauding Bassett full back.

It was soon three though as Bassett clinched the points.

Smith's clipped pass into the right channel caused problems for the Thornbury defence, allowing Taylor to nip in to steal possession before racing past an onrushing Welsh and tapping into an empty net.

While still in the bottom third of the table, just three points separate now Bassett from a place in the top half in what is becoming a congested, wide open field.

Given their position in the table, Aitkenhead's team do need to keep the momentum they have built going though. And Tuesday's derby against Malmesbury Victoria offers a chance both to edge further up the table and add a bit of distance between themselves and the drop zone.

Credit: Stuart Smedley
Last modified on Saturday 10th October 2026 at 22:42