Whilst the skies were overcast in Basingstoke, a few Basingstoke fans travelled just north of Oxford to watch the team take on Southern League Division One Central opposition Kidlington FC, which was filled with warm sunny skies.
Your Basingstoke side with a few players missing, looked to be on the front-foot in the first quarter of the game, and if not for one or two last ditched tackles and blocks, could have seen us take the lead. This was not to say the home side did not create their own chances, but our stand-in academy keeper made two fine stops.
With little between either team, the game went to the halftime break goal-less.
The second-half got underway and within a few minutes the homeside took the lead.
This seemed to spur Stoke back into the attack, and we created two nice attacking moves, which failed to find the required finish, before McKoy Palmer broke down the right, beat his defender and sent in a cross the returning Bradley Wilson, put away to bring us level.
Both teams then created further chances, but Kidlington went back into the lead, when a shot going wide deflected off a Stoke player and then flew into the net.
The warm weather seemed to take affect, as the game was started to be stretched, and it was Kidlington with a nice finish, who doubled their lead.
A further late goal by the homeside completed the scoring and confirmed Basingstoke’s first loss this pre-season.
Final Score: Kidlington FC 4 v 1 Basingstoke Town
Wrap Up Notes: Many thanks need to go to Kidlington who not only only hosted this match very well, but have a superb clubhouse and outside garden area to cater for their few fans.
Highlight was the little dog who on two occasions retrieved the ball from the field behind the goal, and went on a George Best dazzling run with it.
Up Next: Tuesday night’s restricted ticket friendly match at Andover New Street
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