WOOTTON Bassett lost a thrilling Southern Counties South clash with Oakmeadians in the dying seconds of the match.

With the score locked at 22-22 heading into the final moments, the Bournemouth side secured turnover ball and crossed the whitewash to grab a 27-22 victory.

It was hard luck on the visitors who had battled back after conceding two early tries at Meyrick Park, and ultimately they were left to seek solace in a losing point.

Centre David Martin admitted: “It was a shame after a hard-fought comeback following the initial shock of going two tries down.

“We built some momentum and felt they were crumbling when we forced the two late penalties that brought us level.

“Unfortunately our scrum let us down and they turned the ball over and dived over the line.”

Oakmeadians registered two converted tries from turnover situations early on, before Bassett opened their account with a David Hogg penalty.

A simple penalty saw the hosts’ lead restored to 14 points, but then the visitors capitalised on loose play in the middle of the park, allowing winger Danny Randell to touch down in the corner.

This effort late in the first half buoyed the visitors and they came out firing after the break. Aided by a brace of penalties, Bassett secured a close-range score from second-row Keith Adams.

Dave Hogg added another penalty before quick work saw Oakmeadians’ number eight touch the ball down for an unconverted try.

A try-saving tackle denied Bassett a score of their own, but Hogg then brought matters level with two well-struck penalties as the final whistle approached.

The hosts had the final say in the last play of the match, as they stole possession in the Bassett half and touched down to take victory.

“This season we’re going to have to take every point that we can, it’s a good incentive to keep fighting in games,” added Martin.

“The bonus point certainly meant the lads weren’t too downhearted after giving away two silly tries early on. It was a good lesson for some of the new faces that you don’t give up.”

Martin added: “We want to consolidate our position in this league as that would be an achievement and a top-four finish is possibly realistic.

“But we won’t know until we’ve spent a lot more time playing against the other teams.”

Elsewhere in the division, Supermarine succumbed 46-23 at home to Walcot .