BAILEY Gallagher scored the only goal of the game as Royal Wootton Bassett Town beat Mangotsfield United 1-0 on Tuesday night to maintain their 100 per cent start in the Hellenic League Premier Division, writes STUART SMEDLEY.
Sam Collier's men had met their visitors just over a fortnight ago in FA Cup qualifying, with Mangotsfield taking the honours 2-0 to book their spot in the next round.
But the midweek Hellenic League meeting told a different story as Bassett gained their revenge - plus a third win from three matches - through Gallagher's strike in first-half stoppage time.
Neat interplay down the left side - involving Louis Spalding, Sam Packer, Chris Taylor, and Matt Jones - led to the latter whipping in a low cross which caught the defence off guard and found Gallagher at the far post.
He produced a cool first-time finish into the bottom corner to put Bassett ahead in a tight and intriguing match.
A stern defensive display from Collier's men offered little to the visitors - who sought to push forward in numbers in the second half - as Gallagher's contribution at the other end proved to be enough.
Meanwhile, division rivals Highworth Town also secured a victory on Tuesday when facing Fairford Town at Cinder Lane.
Highworth took the honours in their local derby after coming from behind with a superb second-half display, writes DEREK LLOYD.
Hosts Fairford led at half-time through a 40th-minute strike from Jamal Lawrence, who latched on to a Ben Lodge pass to fire home across Connor Johns.
But whatever was said in the visitors' dressing room during the break certainly had the desired effect.
Within 60 seconds of restarting, Connor Mattimore made room down the right and sent in an excellent cross which was converted by Rhys Wells.
Highworth almost immediately made it two when a mix up in the home defence saw Steve Robertson strike the crossbar with an acrobatic effort before a goal-line clearance denied them once again.
The Worthians nudged in front on the hour when Wells cut in from the left and unleashed a rasping effort towards the top corner. While the initial effort failed to cross the line, the powerful strike hit Fairford's goalkeeper on the back before bouncing into the net anyway.
And the game was sealed five minutes from time when Joe Thomas played Wells in down the left, and his cross was nodded home by Josh Davis.
Following the weekend's fixtures, Highworth and Bassett meet on Bank Holiday Monday at the Save on Tyres Stadium.
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