Bassett march on in FA Cup (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Bassett march on in FA Cup

11:52am Monday 3rd September 2007 in Football By Gazette Sport Reporter

IT was another super Sunday for Wootton Bassett in the FA Cup as they claimed the scalp of Southern League South & West side Bracknell Town.

Club captain Steve Yeardley was the hero, scoring twice to net Bassett a cool £1,000 and seal their safe passage into the first qualifying round.

Yeardley fired the Hellenic League side ahead on 20 minutes, tapping home after Matty Bennett's low corner had caused panic in the Bracknell box.

The visitors equalised on the hour mark when Bassett failed to clear their lines before Yeardley settled matters with a penalty five minutes from time.

Manager Paul Burke was elated after watching his side overcome opponents from two steps above them in the football pyramid.

He said: "It was another brilliant team performance and the lads really deserved it.

"Steve Yeardley will grab all the headlines for his two goals, and rightly so, but everyone played their part.

"We could have been three or four up at half-time if we had taken our chances.

"But I'm just happy we have gone through against a team from two leagues above.

"We've got £1,000 for winning which is a mammoth amount for a club our size. It would be great to get another home draw now against a big club."

After Bassett were roared on by another bumper home crowd, Burke would like to see more matches played on Sundays at Rylands Way.

He said: "It's a shame we can't play on Sunday every week. It seems to be working well for us at the moment.

"Also, I could go watch Swindon Town play on a Saturday and my boy's team on a Sunday morning. That would be the ideal weekend for me."

Bassett return to league action on Saturday when they travel to Letcombe, and Burke is hoping for a similar result.

He said: "We are behind on games at the moment so it will be nice to play in the league again.

"We have to try to be more consistent now and keep this level of performance every week.

"I've said it before but I will be judged on where we finish in the league, not how many rounds we get through in the cup.

"It's nice to be in the hat for the next round though."