Post by btfc Supporters Club on Dec 24, 2023 9:43:18 GMT
Southern League Premier South Division – Saturday 23rd December 2023
Basingstoke Town 2 v 4 Didcot Town Attendance 625
Where: Winklebury Sports Centre, Winklebury Way, Basingstoke. RG23 8BF
Dan Brownlie’s pre-Christmas line-up side with a number of new signings was: 1. Mark Scott, 2. Marcus Johnson-Schuster, 3. Massimo Giamattei, 4. Anthony Cheshire, 5. Scott Armsworth, 6. Billy Upton, 7. Bradley Wilson, 8. Mal Nicholls, 9. Liam Ferdinand, 10. D’Andre Brown, 11. George Reid
On the bench: Callum Winchcombe, Stefan Brown, Noah Chengun, Josh De Lacy-Turner & Paul Strudley
Referee – James Hall
With a strong wind blowing across the pitch, the game kicked-off with Basingstoke attacking the railway end in the first-half, and we got off to the perfect start after creating an early chance, when Bradley Wilson fired a shot just over the bar, we attacked again a minute later breaking over the halfway line and fed the ball to Wilson, who took the ball forty yards down the left wing, before sliding an inch perfect pass to the far post where George Reid timed his run perfectly and swept his right foot shot into the roof of the Didcot goal. GOAL! Basingstoke Town 1 – 0 Didcot Town (Reid 5 mins)
However just like the Harrow game seven days earlier, the lead did not last long as just four minutes later a Didcot forward broke into our penalty area on the left and the referee awarded a penalty after new signing Mal Nicholls tackle brought the forward down. The Didcot penalty-taker sent Mark Scott the wrong way and we were back level. Basingstoke 1 – 1 Didcot.
It was Didcot who created the next two attacks as they broke down the right wing, and the pass across found a Didcot player, who fortunately took a couple of chances allowing Mark Scott and a Stoke defender to block the shot from close range. This was followed by an errant pass by Scott Armsworth, which allowed the Didcot player to break and hit a shot from the left-hand side of the penalty area which Mark Scott held down low.
The game was then held-up for close to five minutes, as a nasty aerial collision by the touchline, in front of the main stand, saw a Didcot player take a heavy knock. Fortunately he was able to recover and was escorted off the pitch and was replaced.
Stoke created the next attack as new left-back Massino Giamattei took the ball the down the left and found Wilson who slid the ball to Reid inside the six-yard box, but after initially beating one Didcot defender, another was able to clear the ball.
The next few minutes went by with nothing to note, but this all changed with ten minutes to go before the break, as another Didcot player broke down the right and his low cross was met by a fellow forward who found the back of the net. Basingstoke 1 – 2 Didcot
Stoke came looking for the equaliser, and it was D’Andre Brown who broke up the Dicot possession and found Liam Ferdinand five yards outside the penalty-area, who turned his player and took two touches, but his shot did not meet his skillful turn as the ball was hit with little pace and comfortably held by the keeper.
Then in the last minute of normal time, we won a corner down the left. The kick was the pre-rehearsed pass to Reid, whose shot was blocked by a wall of Didcot defenders inside the six-yard box, and they are able to clear.
Stoke created the last chance of the first-half, as a cross from the left by Giamattei, was met by Billy Upton, whose header flew over the bar.
The referee then in the sixth-minute of added-time blew the halftime whistle, with Stoke trailing going into the break.
Halftime – Basingstoke Town 1 v 2 Didcot Town
The second-half got underway with Basingstoke showing more purpose, and a neat passing move involving four Stoke players saw, Ferdinand and Wilson in one-two passing move that allowed Wilson to take the ball down the left, but his cross was over hit and it flew out for a goal-kick.
This momentum continued when D’Andre then found Ferdinand with an accurate through ball allowing Ferdinand to break, but his shot was well saved by the Didcot keeper.
Didcot then had a brief attack, but the shot flew wide.
The Stoke possession finally paid off when another neat move saw Reid break down the left and send the ball across the penalty area to Wilson, who despite calls from the crowd for him to shoot first time, touched the ball to his left, which surprised the Didcot keeper in goal as he lost his footing, which allowed Wilson to slot home into an empty net. GOAL!! Basingstoke Town 2 – 2 Didcot Town (Wilson 55 min)
Unfortunately the Didcot keeper (Leigh Bedwell), took exception to Wilson’s neat finish, and a skirmish between a number of players ensued until the referee calmed the situation.
Stoke continue to press and D’Andre drags a ball past a Didcot defender, who brings him down and we win a free-kick about twenty five yards out, which is wasted as Reid hits the bottom of the wall and they thump the ball clear.
Another Stoke attack, saw another cross wasted as the ball flew out for a throw-in on the far right-hand side.
Stoke continue to press and win another free-kick outside the penalty area when Reid, had his legs taken away, but again the kick hits the wall and the ball is hacked clear.
It’s time for our first change as Mal Nicholls is replaced by Stefan Brown (70 mins)
Stoke create the next attack as the ball inside the Didcot six-yard area is met by Upton who headed the ball back from a corner, and Ferdinand is unable to knock the ball past Bedwell as he blocks the ball away.
It's Didcot who had the next attack, winning a corner on the right, and the cross is allowed to float to the far post by Scott, which looks to be going out, and Giamattei also leaves it, only for a Didcot player to stick a leg out and hook the ball inside the post and we go behind once again. Basingstoke 2-3 Didcot.
Didcot then push forward again, and win another corner on the left, which Upton’s up and heads the call clear.
Then on eighty-two minutes, from a throw-in close to the halfway-line, the ball is flicked on twice and a Didcot forward breaks clear down the right, who takes a couple of touches then hits a shot that Scott gets a hand to but is unable to prevent it from it rolling into the net and Didcot somehow double their lead. Basingstoke 2-4 Didcot.
A few fans have seen enough and start to drift off home or to their pre-Christmas celebrations, as we make our second change with Noah Chengun replacing Markus- Johnson-Schuster (88 mins).
Now in added-time Stoke again put pressure on the Didcot goal, but Didcot hold firm, which is not helped, after a neat by-line move by Ferdinand sets-up a Stoke player who hits his shot from just inside the penalty area over the bar and over the seated stand.
Stoke are still on the attack, as we enter the sixth-minute of added-time, and the referee blows the fulltime whistle.
Fulltime Score: Basingstoke Town 2 v 4 Didcot Town
Reid 5 mins, Wilson 55 mins Barder 9 mins (Pen), Putland 35 mins,
Learoyd 73 mins, Osborne 82 mins
Match Thought’s
Another early lead, is wasted and we again concede goals, when looking on top and in some control.
Back-to-back games conceding four goals, against teams in the relegation zone, does not bode well, as we face teams in the promotion race, over the upcoming three games.
With other teams below us picking up points, the gap between us and the bottom few teams is closing even more, and talk of a relegation fight is now spoken more and more by fans as they left the ground.
Up Next:
We have an away trip down south down to play fifth-placed AFC Totton on Boxing Day afternoon.
Match Report by Martin French..
Basingstoke Town 2 v 4 Didcot Town Attendance 625
Where: Winklebury Sports Centre, Winklebury Way, Basingstoke. RG23 8BF
Dan Brownlie’s pre-Christmas line-up side with a number of new signings was: 1. Mark Scott, 2. Marcus Johnson-Schuster, 3. Massimo Giamattei, 4. Anthony Cheshire, 5. Scott Armsworth, 6. Billy Upton, 7. Bradley Wilson, 8. Mal Nicholls, 9. Liam Ferdinand, 10. D’Andre Brown, 11. George Reid
On the bench: Callum Winchcombe, Stefan Brown, Noah Chengun, Josh De Lacy-Turner & Paul Strudley
Referee – James Hall
With a strong wind blowing across the pitch, the game kicked-off with Basingstoke attacking the railway end in the first-half, and we got off to the perfect start after creating an early chance, when Bradley Wilson fired a shot just over the bar, we attacked again a minute later breaking over the halfway line and fed the ball to Wilson, who took the ball forty yards down the left wing, before sliding an inch perfect pass to the far post where George Reid timed his run perfectly and swept his right foot shot into the roof of the Didcot goal. GOAL! Basingstoke Town 1 – 0 Didcot Town (Reid 5 mins)
However just like the Harrow game seven days earlier, the lead did not last long as just four minutes later a Didcot forward broke into our penalty area on the left and the referee awarded a penalty after new signing Mal Nicholls tackle brought the forward down. The Didcot penalty-taker sent Mark Scott the wrong way and we were back level. Basingstoke 1 – 1 Didcot.
It was Didcot who created the next two attacks as they broke down the right wing, and the pass across found a Didcot player, who fortunately took a couple of chances allowing Mark Scott and a Stoke defender to block the shot from close range. This was followed by an errant pass by Scott Armsworth, which allowed the Didcot player to break and hit a shot from the left-hand side of the penalty area which Mark Scott held down low.
The game was then held-up for close to five minutes, as a nasty aerial collision by the touchline, in front of the main stand, saw a Didcot player take a heavy knock. Fortunately he was able to recover and was escorted off the pitch and was replaced.
Stoke created the next attack as new left-back Massino Giamattei took the ball the down the left and found Wilson who slid the ball to Reid inside the six-yard box, but after initially beating one Didcot defender, another was able to clear the ball.
The next few minutes went by with nothing to note, but this all changed with ten minutes to go before the break, as another Didcot player broke down the right and his low cross was met by a fellow forward who found the back of the net. Basingstoke 1 – 2 Didcot
Stoke came looking for the equaliser, and it was D’Andre Brown who broke up the Dicot possession and found Liam Ferdinand five yards outside the penalty-area, who turned his player and took two touches, but his shot did not meet his skillful turn as the ball was hit with little pace and comfortably held by the keeper.
Then in the last minute of normal time, we won a corner down the left. The kick was the pre-rehearsed pass to Reid, whose shot was blocked by a wall of Didcot defenders inside the six-yard box, and they are able to clear.
Stoke created the last chance of the first-half, as a cross from the left by Giamattei, was met by Billy Upton, whose header flew over the bar.
The referee then in the sixth-minute of added-time blew the halftime whistle, with Stoke trailing going into the break.
Halftime – Basingstoke Town 1 v 2 Didcot Town
The second-half got underway with Basingstoke showing more purpose, and a neat passing move involving four Stoke players saw, Ferdinand and Wilson in one-two passing move that allowed Wilson to take the ball down the left, but his cross was over hit and it flew out for a goal-kick.
This momentum continued when D’Andre then found Ferdinand with an accurate through ball allowing Ferdinand to break, but his shot was well saved by the Didcot keeper.
Didcot then had a brief attack, but the shot flew wide.
The Stoke possession finally paid off when another neat move saw Reid break down the left and send the ball across the penalty area to Wilson, who despite calls from the crowd for him to shoot first time, touched the ball to his left, which surprised the Didcot keeper in goal as he lost his footing, which allowed Wilson to slot home into an empty net. GOAL!! Basingstoke Town 2 – 2 Didcot Town (Wilson 55 min)
Unfortunately the Didcot keeper (Leigh Bedwell), took exception to Wilson’s neat finish, and a skirmish between a number of players ensued until the referee calmed the situation.
Stoke continue to press and D’Andre drags a ball past a Didcot defender, who brings him down and we win a free-kick about twenty five yards out, which is wasted as Reid hits the bottom of the wall and they thump the ball clear.
Another Stoke attack, saw another cross wasted as the ball flew out for a throw-in on the far right-hand side.
Stoke continue to press and win another free-kick outside the penalty area when Reid, had his legs taken away, but again the kick hits the wall and the ball is hacked clear.
It’s time for our first change as Mal Nicholls is replaced by Stefan Brown (70 mins)
Stoke create the next attack as the ball inside the Didcot six-yard area is met by Upton who headed the ball back from a corner, and Ferdinand is unable to knock the ball past Bedwell as he blocks the ball away.
It's Didcot who had the next attack, winning a corner on the right, and the cross is allowed to float to the far post by Scott, which looks to be going out, and Giamattei also leaves it, only for a Didcot player to stick a leg out and hook the ball inside the post and we go behind once again. Basingstoke 2-3 Didcot.
Didcot then push forward again, and win another corner on the left, which Upton’s up and heads the call clear.
Then on eighty-two minutes, from a throw-in close to the halfway-line, the ball is flicked on twice and a Didcot forward breaks clear down the right, who takes a couple of touches then hits a shot that Scott gets a hand to but is unable to prevent it from it rolling into the net and Didcot somehow double their lead. Basingstoke 2-4 Didcot.
A few fans have seen enough and start to drift off home or to their pre-Christmas celebrations, as we make our second change with Noah Chengun replacing Markus- Johnson-Schuster (88 mins).
Now in added-time Stoke again put pressure on the Didcot goal, but Didcot hold firm, which is not helped, after a neat by-line move by Ferdinand sets-up a Stoke player who hits his shot from just inside the penalty area over the bar and over the seated stand.
Stoke are still on the attack, as we enter the sixth-minute of added-time, and the referee blows the fulltime whistle.
Fulltime Score: Basingstoke Town 2 v 4 Didcot Town
Reid 5 mins, Wilson 55 mins Barder 9 mins (Pen), Putland 35 mins,
Learoyd 73 mins, Osborne 82 mins
Match Thought’s
Another early lead, is wasted and we again concede goals, when looking on top and in some control.
Back-to-back games conceding four goals, against teams in the relegation zone, does not bode well, as we face teams in the promotion race, over the upcoming three games.
With other teams below us picking up points, the gap between us and the bottom few teams is closing even more, and talk of a relegation fight is now spoken more and more by fans as they left the ground.
Up Next:
We have an away trip down south down to play fifth-placed AFC Totton on Boxing Day afternoon.
Match Report by Martin French..