Athletic Bilbao Baggins go on an adventure at Gerard Buxton
In what was another fun filled night at the Gerard Buxton in the Leisure Leagues Royal Wootton Bassett Monday six a side two teams stood out for the comprehensive way in which they went about defeating their opponents with both Athletic Bilbao Baggins and Bailey's Boys putting 7 and 6 goals respectively past their opponents without reply.
In the first of the nights opening kick offs Bailey's Boys, and Zak in particular, were putting a job on the Plough with 6 goals for no reply. The Plough might have been still feeling the affects of a weekend that saw them off to visit Thorpe Park courtesy of Leisure Leagues but nevertheless they would have expected to have put up a better fight against a lot of people's favourites for the league title. Especially after recent weeks when they have showed a massive improvement following their week 1 drubbing by Gangsters. After the game Bailey's captain described his teams performance as routine which just goes to show the level of confidence the team is currently playing with. They are hungry for this league title and will do whatever it takes to end up on top come the seasons end.
On the other pitch a classic game was being played out between 2 Goals 1 Cup and The Unplayables. These two have history after a fiery game first time around and so both were keen to get one over the other in the return fixture. The Unplayables were the ones who came out on top but after the game Captain Justin gave credit to his goal keeper Kevin Richter, whom without him the victory would just not have been possible. He also said that it was nice for new recruit Barry to score on his debut. The goal will give him the confidence to push on and help the lads climb the table in the second half of the season.
In the second round of kick offs Gangsters in the shiny new kit put in a very solid performance against Bass Rugby. They out muscled the rugby boys and won the right to dominate possession. Some slick passing from the returning messiah Charlie Bradford helped set Chris Finn away and with just the keeper to beat he never looked like missing. Gangsters continued their free flowing game into the second half adding more goals. The late consolation from Bass did nothing to dampen Gangster's mood as they celebrated long into the night (except Charlie who is still in the dog house).
Who Ate All Depays in the other match also kept up their recent good run of form with a solid 2-0 win against the Underdogs. Jamie Hillier picked up the man of the match award yet again with a stunning brace. The first one was a lucky shot that took a wicked deflection that left the keeper no chance. The second came after some clever build up play that saw Jason break down the left flank. He then cut inside onto his right foot to whip a lovely shot right in the top corner. The Underdogs, in contrast, offered very little going forward and never looked like getting back on level terms, but they were resolute and kept going until the end.
In the nights final kick offs Athletic but Sloblins in the dark with an excellent display although they had to wait until the second half to really star racking up the goals. Sam Ricketts scored his second hat-trick in as many weeks to underline his credentials as the top marksman in the league. His first of the night saw him take the ball down after a long ball forward before taking a touch and calmly placing the ball under the legs of the onrushing Sloblins keeper.
On the other pitch Exeter were briefly scared by FC Guava who took an early lead after some sloppy defending let them through on goal. It took Exeter a while to recover from this shock but they eventually got back into the game through an own goal. However, Guava continued to frustrate Exeter with some great saves being made by both keepers to keep the score level. It took Noah for Exeter to add all important winning goal and once they were in front they settled down and started to pass the ball around nicely. Two late goals were then added by captain Pete Leppan and Jay respectively. The win keeps Exeter just ahead of Bailey's at the top of the standings. But for how long?
Want to Join the best league in the Swindon area? We already have one team on the waiting list and last night they played their first friendly. There is still space on the night to add more friendlies so get your team signed up now and play next week!
If you would like to join the waiting list ahead of next season then you can sign up online here: https://www.leisureleagues.net/league/gerard-buxton-sports-ground/swindon-monday