The Wiltshire Gazette, Thursday 22nd September 1938

Another team that was overwhelmed was Wootton Bassett, which went down 6-0 to the Wilts Mental Hospital at Devizes.

When Wootton Bassett visited the Wilts County Mental Hospital in the preliminary round of the FA Cup on Saturday, they were soundly defeated by 6-0. Yet, at the start of the game, it seemed as though the home team were in for a evenly-contested match, and at first Wootton Bassett were undoubtedly playing the better quality football. In the first half the Mental-Hospital lacked co-operation and team work, and although their play was not so greatly improved in the second half, it appeared that Wootton Bassett absolutely went to pieces.

The game at the beginning was closely contested, and Wootton Bassett opened the attack, so that Blagden, in the Hospital goal was kept hard at work. When the home team got away with the leather they missed several fine chances, including shots at an open goal. Eventually Offer put the Hospital one up. There were plenty of free kicks for each side during the game. Wootton Bassett took the ball away once to give the home defence a busy ten minutes, but luck was not with them. Play in the middle of the first half was fast, but indecisive, and it might have been anyone's game.

Eventually the Hospital began to get the better of the play, and were almost continually attacking, although finding difficulty in penetrating the visitors' defence, which worked hard. When they at last succeeded, Fielding added to the home score. So, at half time, the score was 2-0.

In the second half there were numerous corners, and most of them at the Wootton Bassett end. At the start Rose had bad luck for the Hospital with an excellent shot, but play became sluggish. Palmer, of the Hospital team, was cautioned by the referee after a charging incident. Winchcombe for the home team, was as usual working hard, and put some fine passes across the Bassett goalmouth, opportunities which were not always taken by the other forwards. Drury and Marsh, the Wootton Bassett backs, were working like Trojans, but corners came all too often. From one of these Palmer made the Hospital's score up to three with a finely judged shot, which with the combination of the wind and the turn on the ball, made it just into the visitor's goal. When Palmer tried to do this again, however, the ball was just too high, and rolled down the back of the net.

After another corner, taken by Palmer, Offer put the ball in the net to add still another and just afterwards Offer got his third goal, and the Hospital's fifth, from a corner taken by Winchcombe. Worsdell, the home team's inside left added the sixth and last goal, with a good shot. Fielding to the ball in the net soon afterwards, but he was offside. Rose was injured just before the end of the game, but not seriously. The teams were:-

Wootton Bassett – Palmer; Marsh and Drury; Brown, Moore and Bowles; Sawyer, Embling, Hunt, Gleed and Dunford.

Mental Hospital – Blagden; Huntley and Strudley; Harris, Jeffries and Palmer; Winchcombe, Rose, Fielding, Worsdell and Offer.

Last modified on Monday 22nd June 2015 at 23:38