WOOTTON Bassett manager Paul Braithwaite could find no fault with his players after they suffered a heart-breaking injury-time defeat on Saturday.

Playing in their 900th Hellenic League game, Bassett found themselves two goals down to visitors Ascot United, who are second in the Hellenic League Premier Division, before half-time.

A spirited second half display saw Bassett draw the game level, only for their hard work to be undone by a goal in the last minute of the game.

The hosts conceded early on when Jesse Wilson was able to finish from ten yards out after scuffing his first attempt, before Jermaine Roche doubled Ascot’s lead after just 15 minutes when he capitalised on a rare mistake from goalkeeper Ben Mitchell, who passed the ball straight to the visiting forward.

After the break, Bassett rallied and two goals from Steve Yeardley got the home side back on level terms.

The first came just two minutes after the restart and captain Yeardley doubled his tally with a header with just five minutes remaining in the game.

But Ascot completed the ‘smash and grab’, as Bassett boss Braithwaite described it, in injury-time when the hosts failed to clear their box and the ball found a way into the net.

“I couldn’t ask for any more from my players (on Saturday) - we played the top goal-scorers in the league and we held our own,” said the Bassett boss.

“To be fair to them, even they admitted that they didn’t deserve to win.

“At the end of the day, we have played well for 90 minutes and the three goals that they were able to snatch were ultimately down to our own doing.

“After we equalised, it looked like we were going to at least get a point if not all three.

“If you compare this season to last season, from what I am being told from the committee and the skipper Yeardley, this is the best it has been a long time.

“Everyone is committed and works hard and the players all want to play for each other. I couldn’t fault them.

“If I was offered 16 new players who were much more talented, I wouldn’t swap them.

“These players give everything and if we play like that every week, then we will have no problems in this league.”