BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE SAT 9TH FEB 2008, KO 3PM

After that match I was in two minds on what to report. My notes picked up on all the Bashley gamesmanship and a dire performance by the ref. But my eyes and mind told me that a very streetwise team took us for mugs and punished us. Big time. We were match rusty and it showed in this one.

Bashley 3 Cirencester Town 1

Richard Gillespie, by far the quickest player on the pitch both in thought and in execution, was the key for The Bash to unlock this match. Throughout the contest, his movement and anticipation was a threat.

His team mates played to his strengths by passing the ball short when it was needed or aiming for the flick on when the situation demanded it. By the end of the match he walked away with the MoM from the sponsors.

Though, for me, it was the Bash midfield that did the real damage today. Without their efforts – and you can't deny their footballing skill – young Gillespie would not have been the 'hero'.

Early on, The Bash lived up to their nickname as they set about containing the lively Ciren front line. With Ashan Holgate and Steve Robertson making Pete Castle and Phil Archbold turn and go backwards the Bash skipper Paul Gazzard was, within minutes, in a high old fret.

He wanted it 'sorted'. And he did not care what they did but it had to be done. Uncompromising hardly describes their response. Matt Shaxton within 5 minutes was on the end of a tasty challenge from Chris Ferret, spending a bit of time on the deck as he counted his legs. And fingers. And ankles.

First time Bash sent the ball up the pitch, Moly cleared easily and set Chrissie Collins going. Second time, Moly did it again. And then got a hole stamped into his foot off a sly boot by Ryan Moss. What was this?

More worrying, though the ref had already been whistling merrily for some challenges, he'd missed the two key ones already. Had he ever played proper footy? Worse, both teams were already thoroughly bewildered about what was fair play and what was a foul. That undercurrent spoiled the game. But, it did not decide the result. Rank bad defending did for us today.

Ciren really should have punished a nervy Bashley back line in the early stages. With the Ciren defence collecting and working the ball neatly upfield, the openings were there for the midfield to exploit.

They just could not do it. All too hurried, and under pressure from the off from a feisty Bashley four across the middle, Jacko and Nathan could not quite time their passes. Much as the impressive Ashan Holgate and Steve Robertson chased, there were few moments when the ball was fully under control in the Bashley last third of the pitch.

Three times Andy Chapman was worked free up the left early on. Each time he sent his cross far too close to the massive David Elm, with Holgate hovering in space 12 yards out and begging to be found in space.

When, on 14 minutes, a defensive mistake let Holgate skate clear his firm shot from the edge of the box had Elms leaping as it flashed past the far post. For all our pressure and corners, with Moly sending a cracker off a good corner delivery past the post on 13 minutes, we had not forced David Elm to an actual save.

It nearly changed on 19 minutes. Ashan, for the umpteenth time, was dumped by an elbow to the back of the neck inside the D. Chappo lined it up and belted in a purler. Only for Elm to see it, dive across, and fist it around the post.

To rub salt in the wounds, the big keeper then came miles out for the corner and fisted away, with Ash leaping high, when any 'normal' team would have let the defence take care of that one.

This clearly was a team built on different rules of football. But, playing to their strengths. Today, that was to play it narrow and tight across midfield, with both Knowles and Tarr tucked it to provide outlets besides Smith and Davis.

And when they won the ball, which inevitably they did as Jacko and Nathan strove fruitlessly to get hold and do something with it other than bang it forwards, the Bash midfield either played it short to Gillespie coming deep to receive or laid it back and Moss went leaping for the long ball up to knock Gillespie free.

It was simple, it was crude. But it worked. Already, Gillespie had peeled off the last man and was tearing through on Bully. Sure, each time he came up short but the Ciren back line was already thinking about where he was.

Instead of continuing their play of bringing the ball down and playing it out, they were banging it long. Maybe, having seen the midfield concede possession more times than not, that was what they needed to do. More times than not, Bashley were getting the second ball as they leapt into the challenges.

It was looking ominous. Ciren on top. But getting nowhere. With Bashley’s Dan Smith and Craig Davis chasing manfully to gain control of midfield, and winning their battles, Michael Jackson and Nathan Haisley were hustled unmercifully and were unable to deliver the passes.

Those that did get through were closed off by some inelegant but undetected body checking and blocking by the Bashley backline, with the referee irritating and confusing both teams by constantly stopping play for apparently unfair aerial challenges in the middle of the park.

He was taking no action on the Bashley defensive ploys. That blind spot in his application of the Laws of the Game was increasingly going to have an effect on the way the match was played out.

Bashley's first opening came on 30 minutes off a long ball through the middle. Gillespie was already on the move into space and streaked away off a Moss flick-on only to be stopped by a magnificent recovery tackle by the indomitable Molyneux. As if a switch had been flicked, Bashley assumed control.

On 32 minutes three quick passes up the left gave Richard Gillespie the chance to run at the defence. Taking off, he wriggled through and finished calmly after clearing the last defender. Class goal by a class act. Shocked, and more than a little annoyed, Ciren burst back and pinned Bashley inside their area.

Paul Cochlin netted the Ciren equaliser firmly from 6 yards, after Lee Molyneux had nodded down a corner and Cocker had followed the training ground routine and lost his marker on the run-round for a clean strike that drove Mr Elms mad.

Ciren were back in control. Ashley Holgate, subjected to some inelegant battering from Pete Castle, at last escaped his tentacle arms and raced clear up the left channel. From the edge of the box his firm shot was a bit too close to Elms and the chance his dominance had earned was gone.

Gillespie, ominously, was escaping more and more frequently as the Bashley midfield used their rare moments of possession to pass on the deck to find their wide men. But the goal for a 2 – 1 lead right on the stroke of half time was right out of the Bash Play Book.

A nothing free kick – what was that for ref? Chrissie had got there first and had already played it up to to Shax – was played in from the left and was cleared. Castle, inside the Ciren half, collected in front of the scurrying Jackson to free Gazzard on the right.

His high, hanging cross was a standard catch and collect for Matt Bulman, rising high in the middle of the goal. Nudged just enough by Richard Gillespie, Bully needed to hang on but instead spilled the ball and was immediately punished with the referee apparently seeing no offence. And Bashley had an unexpected half time lead.

Second half, with Wallo on and Moly on his way to hospital to stop the bleeding foot, the Ciren response was increasingly to send long balls down the channels. That required support for the front men from the midfield.

Mindful perhaps that they also had to bar the midfield, Nathan Haisley and Michael Jackson rarely managed to reach the last third of the pitch. We were snookered. The team that could get hold of the ball and control it was going to win this match.

Holgate and Robertson were out muscled in their chases for what were actually very good channel balls from Alex Stanley and Chrissie Collins, with Shax manfully contributing to the supply from midfield. With Gazzard and Archbold time after time using their bodies to block off the attacker and allowing Elm time to race out to collect we either had to make the passes even more cute.

Or, start to hold and move the ball from midfield to make Bashley think about where their defence line was going to cover. Blocking off the runner is a defensive ploy, typical of all football, that Ciren need to work to overcome and learn how to make themselves first when faced by canny defenders.

Incredibly the referee did not regard a back pass by Ferret to Elms on 63 minutes, under huge pressure as Holgate swooped on a loose ball, as worthy of note. On the sidelines The Muppetts were going bananas. What was this ref doing?

Moments after Craig Davis had hit the Ciren post, after again Gillespie had wriggled free onto a long pass to set him up, Holgate was then yellowed for a winning tackle in midfield.

In my humble opinion, that was nasty afters from the ref after Ashan had quite rightly if misguidedly contested what was the most bizarre decision in a long series of wierd judgments.

The Ciren frustration with the bizarre refereeing was plainly visible. And maybe it was wise to replace Ashan with the champing at the bit Snaky. Within three minutes, off the ball, he was punched by Dan Smith after he had twice spun and got away from the spiky midfielder.

To Snaky's credit, he refused to be dragged into it and worked his honest little socks off to try and get the proper reply, an equaliser. Mind you, he still was getting some tasty bits without the ref taking any action.

This lad had been up with his elbow all match. If Snaky has a headache this morning, its not a hangover. It's from getting his brain box rattled in his skull. Fair play to Nick. Better men than him have reacted before now.

Bashley had noted the Ciren frustration and upped their provocation, with their bench now every time roundly abusing the referee and visibly unnerving him. And, noting that Dan Wallington was very edgy, the Bashley bench sent two against him and exploited the resultant mistakes to keep the pressure on the Ciren midfield.

But, only one goal down, Ciren kept plugging away with Nick Stanley forcing Elm to a good stop off a fierce shot and Matt Shaxton, in spite of constant fouling, striving manfully to open up the left side of the Bashley defence.

Finally, it seemed as if Ciren had stifled the Bash efforts – with their bench going pot loose at the defence when first Snaky, then Robbo, then Chappo worked themselves free for dangerous crosses – and the odds were on parity at 2 – 2.

It wasn't to happen. On 82 minutes, after another long period of Ciren pressure, a corner cleared to midfield was collected by Gillespie. Spinning wide he raced away from Wallington up the left touchline.

Not even considering a cynical foul, the youngster tried his best to keep pace but let the cross come in. Placed to perfection, it found Ryan Moss on the edge of the 6 yard box who poked home an excellent breakaway decider.

Credit to Ciren. Back they came, with a series of corners forcing Bashley to ever more desperate clearances in the final minutes. But, brutally, we did not score and The Bash had done it three times. Each one an avoidable strike.

Gillespie could have had another goal right at the death, breaking onto a cute Knowles pass after he had first nudged Wallington off the ball. Hitting the post with his cross shot Gillespie was then comprehensively dumped by the incensed Bulman as they both chased the rebound. It looked to all except the referee as a certain spot kick.

It just about summed up the day for Ciren. Allowing themselves to be niggled by a streetwise team and not showing sufficient confidence in their own passing, they were unable to contain a classy front man who showed all the tricks and punished them clinically.

And they had been distracted by a ref who really should not have been on the pitch. But he was. Deal with it.

Bashley: David Elm, Paul Gazzard (c), Chris Ferrett, Pete Castle [Russ Hardwell 85], Phil Archbold, Dan Smith Y88, Chris Knowles, Craig Davis, Ryan Moss [Justin Keeler 87], Richard Gillespie, Jeremy Tarr [Dave Town 60]
other subs: Steve Riley, Steve Hollick

Cirencester: Matt Bulman, Chris Collins (c), Alex Stanley, Nathan Haisley, Lee Molyneux [Dan Wallington 45], Paul Cochlin, Matt Shaxton Y82, Michael Jackson, Ashan Holgate Y67 [Nick Stanley 69], Steve Robertson, Andy Chapman
other subs: Jon Else, Hanin Romdhane, Paul Hunt

Ref: Mr C Powell (Poole)

Att: 290 With only Bournemouth, Southampton and Salisbury City within 20 miles, Bashley have little local competition (although frightening travelling costs in our League) and a winning team for the past 2 years has built them a strong fan base.

We had a very fair turnout today of over 30 at this very pleasant venue but by the end, in spite of our best endeavours (with a lot of sympathetic murmurs from the Bash around us), we could not persuade the ref and the far side lino that they needed to read the Laws of the Game. Ho hum. It happens but it made for a We Wuz Robbed feeling for part of the journey home.

Ciren MoM: only two really in contention from a full vote, though it ws pleasing to note recognition for Chrissie Collins and Steve Robertson. Ashan Holgate got a lot of votes and in my opinion he did really well, with no consideration from the ref. But, and not surprising even though we got beaten today, the winner was Paul Cochlin