Wickham started brightly enough and in the first minute created two half chances as shots came in from the edge of the area, first from Charlie and then from Jesse, but both were blocked by covering defenders. Then we saw the first sign of Bassett’s tactics for the day as a long diagonal ball was hit over the Wickham defenders for their no.8 to run onto but he put his shot wide of the near post. Wickham pressing forwards and Bassett countering was the early shape of the game but with 5 minute gone Wickham seemed to have cleared the ball but from 35 yards out Fraser Evans sent a speculative shot goal wards which just went in under the bar. This stunned Wickham and gave Bassett a big boost. The Bassett back four were a solid as a rock with Wickham attempting to hit the ball over the top. Bassett were far more adept at this often creating one on one’s with James but never being able to finish them off. With 18 minutes gone a Bassett throw in the corner was headed into the Wickham box by Bert. After some panic the ball was partially cleared only for it to be knocked into the middle again. Both William and Bert went for the header which neither dealt with effectively as it fell between two Bassett players who could choose who made it 2-0. In the 23rd minute Wickham passed the ball around as Callum feed Charlie down the left. He played the ball to Albie in the middle who went across the defenders before hitting his shot just over the bar.
The half time talk was all about keeping the ball on the floor and passing it around, effectively playing to our strengths and not to get hitting the ball long and forwards. The first 10 minutes were fairly even with neither side creating a clear cut chance. With 12 minutes gone Aiden came on to play at left back with Olly moving up to left midfield as Callum came off. Almost immediately Olly got a cross in but Albie’s shot was blocked. The ball came back to Olly who found Charlie at the back post but his shot went just wide. With 15 minutes gone following lots of Wickham pressure and innocuous ball forwards towards the centre of Wickham’s box was not called for by James and William attempted to clear. The ball came off the back of his head and into the path of Bassett’s right winger who hit a first time shot across James and inside the far post for 3-0. Things just got worse 3 minutes later as Wickham never full cleared their lines from a goal kick. A scramble took place in the area but the initial shot went wide. Aiden had a chance to put the ball out for a corner but tried to clear it. The ball went straight to Josh Way who coolly slotted the ball away. Wickham now actually started to play some good passing football. When Bassett did break James got his positioning correct and made the saves. With a minute to go Wickham forgot how to defend from their goal kicks. A poor goal kick went straight to Josh Way, who took his time before placing the ball past James completing a 5-0 victory for Bassett.
In summary, a very disappointing display, with a number of players not playing anywhere near their best. Maybe this was because of the way Bassett set themselves up to play the game but certainly the best side won easily on the day. Hopefully everyone will now realise that they need to perform in all games and that we need to improve for the next League match against Wroughton. The Player of the Day award went to one of the few people who did put in his normal effort for the whole game, Duncan Lorrain.
Jack Bolton, Bert Cherrill, William Herrington, Olly Sopp
Albie Oakman, Jesse Bowers, Karl Admans, Duncan Lorrain, Callum Johnson.
Charlie de Fraine
Sub:- Aiden Weeks, Jordan Shaw, Max Nicholls
