ROYAL Wootton Bassett Town boss Sam Collier pin-pointed Ascot United’s superior finishing skills as the clear difference between the two sides as they were beaten 4-0 at home by the Berkshire outfit in Hellenic League Premier Division.

The same two teams met three weeks ago and shared the points thanks to a 1-1 draw, but this game never looked like setting up to repeat a similar score and Collier suffered his heaviest home league defeat since taking charge.

A 40-minute sparring session preceded Ascot’s first goal shortly before half-time, while Collier was left frustrated at the decision to award the visitors a penalty that they would ultimately convert their second from.

Two further goals came for Ascot as Bassett tried to take something the game, but the heavy scoreline did not tell a fair story, according to Collier.

He said: “We started quite brightly, and we had three glorious opportunities that we didn’t take and then Ascot scored in the 44th minute. It was a bit of a sucker-punch, really.

“When I looked around the changing room at half-time, the players looked a bit flat, so I had to get them going again and we came out in the second half and had some glorious opportunities, but again we did not take them.

“Then Ascot got a dubious penalty for handball, and although we reacted well and caused a few problems, we could have been there until tomorrow and not scored.”

Elsewhere, there was also disappointment for Malmesbury Victoria Development as they lost 3-1 at home to Almondsbury in Division One West.

Pewsey Vale were without a game at the weekend.