Uhlsport Hellenic Div 1 West.

Purton 1 Wootton Bassett 2.

A GOAL within the first minute gave visitors Wootton Bassett a lead they never relinquished in this competitive Boxing Day encounter, writes Alan Eastwood.

Bassett then doubled their lead in the 75th minute but Purton rallied so well they could have ended up sharing the points.

It was Steve Yeardley who put Bassett in front after Lee Wilson, the Purton keeper, had palmed away an effort by Matty Bennett.

Both keepers – Wilson for Purton and Domm of Bassett – continued to pull off several good saves.

Domm denied Ashley Gooch on no fewer than three occasions and also kept out efforts by Avenell and Crocker.

Despite their pressure, Purton found themselves 2-0 down on 75 minutes when a poor pass out of defence went straight to a Bassett player, whose pass was finished neatly by Bennett.

Purton sub Jamie McGahey got Purton back in the game a couple of minutes later, cutting in from the right and eluding two challenges before scoring off the post.

From that point, Bassett came under extreme pressure but their defence held out to take all three points.

The game saw the return of a former Purton player to the ranks, when James Townsend came on late as a sub, as did Johnny Cowley.

There was a good turn-out for the game and groundsman Colin Richards is to be congratulated on getting the pitch playable when so many other games fell victim to the bad weather.