THOUGH Royal Wootton Bassett sit deep in the bottom half of the Hellenic League Premier Division, Sam Collier’s side registered a fifth successive home win on Saturday when downing Bishops Cleeve.

Cleeve joined teams including Flackwell Heath, Holmer Green, Brimscombe & Thrupp, and Longlevens to fall to defeat at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground since mid-November.

Bassett’s latest win lifted them to 15th in the 19-team fifth tier, though they are only nine points short of fifth placed Shrivenham – with two games in hand.

Playing against the wind in the opening half, Collier and his assistant Matt Bulman were thrilled to enter half time level after Bassett’s Gloucestershire rivals were restricted to few clear chances.

Mark Francis, Anaclet Odhiambo and Dan Warre then turned on the style for the hosts as they grabbed three second half goals to move onto 27 points from 24 games.

Assessing the game, Collier said: “We came up against a strong Bishops Cleeve team, and we were massively pleased with how we went about our game in the first 10 or 15 minutes.

“We were under the cosh for long periods but adapted to the game well and grew into it as a result.

“Playing against the wind, we were pleased to go in goalless at half time – they had very few chances.

“We blew them away in the second half, and it’s frustrating we don’t see performances like that week in week out.

“But, because we have a mixture of youth and experience that will happen. We haven’t been consistent, and that’s ultimately why we are where we are.

“We made a poor start, but are starting to pick up now.”

Collier made several changes ahead of kick-off and opted to field a more experienced squad compared to recent weeks.

The Bassett chief made no secret of the fact that his tactical tweak may have aided the hosts’ ability. But, he still couldn’t name a star performer from Saturday’s game and consequently praised his squad’s all-round team performance.

Collier added: “Myself and Matt (Bulman, assistant manager) always talk through the team from one to 15 when driving home.

“We couldn’t pick out a star player from Saturday based on how we played. It was an all-round team performance.

“We made a couple of changes, and that experience perhaps worked for us.”

Elsewhere in the Hellenic League, Shrivenham lost at home to Longlevens by a goal to nil while Fairford Town couldn’t stop runaway league leaders Westfields at home – Jody Bevan’s side lost 0-2.