Flying Start to Mixed Campaign

Cirencester Mixed XI beat Royal Wootton Bassett 5-1 with only 10!

After many fallings out with the new website and some poor organisation from the skipper, gameday arrived with Cirencester fielding a side that was one short of the required five ladies. Due to this, the Bassett skipper kindly permitted the game to proceed with Cirencester playing with only ten. Perhaps it was the haphazard way in which people were being asked in what position they played five minutes before pushback, or members of the team arguing over who was stuck with playing right back, that lulled the skipper of the 14 strong Bassett squad into agreeing to play our humble ten, thinking an easy win was on his hands. As the halftime whistle blew and his team were three nil down, it is possible he was regretting this decision. From the off Cirencester had the majority of play and were pulling the Bassett midfield to all parts. The link ups in the centre of the field through Marcus Grinnel, Gabriel Jones and Liam Brown, opened up ample space to allow plenty of ball to be played through to the forward line of Rob Carmichael, Elly Whitehead and Ben Ford. One such ball found Elly wide of the near post to finish with an excellent deflection behind the keeper. This added to two goals, both only just reaching the backboard, from Brown and Jones to take us into the halftime break. After a noble and rousing halftime speech, Cirencester took to the field in high spirits. The Bassett side had upped their game and had adopted a wider point of attack, however some excellent cover from Faye Webber, Bel Blanche, Tabitha Wood and Fergal Parker-Harding, meant all attacks were subdued and little attacking pressure was felt in the Cirencester D. The one chink in the armour came when, midway in the second half, Bassett won a short corner. After a left slip the shot ricocheted from the Ciren keeper's shoulder, before cannoning into Parker-Harding's shin on the goal line. The ensuing flick was swiftly dispatched, removing the home side's clean sheet. Despite this setback the Cirencester intensity was unabashed and two further goals in the second half sealed the deal and a win of 5-1 was recorded and the greens will progress to the next round of the cup.
Overall a fantastic performance, thank you to all who played and congratulations to Gray Vinnicombe on passing his umpiring assessment! We go again on January 20th!