ALL Wootton Bassett Town boss Paul Braithwaite was concerned with was seeing his side in the hat for the Wiltshire Senior Cup third round draw by hook or by crook.

And the Bassett chief got exactly what he wanted his men battled past Wroughton on Saturday.

Braithwaite’s men were pushed all the way by their Wiltshire League hosts, with two red cards proving key as Steve Yeardley’s extra-time penalty sent Bassett through.

The visitors played for around 70 minutes with 10 men after striker Nathan Gambling picked up a second booking before Wroughton keeper Kurtis Sharkey was red-carded late on for throwing Nathan Hawkins to the ground, which led to the spot-kick that finally settled matters.

“Wroughton have got a lot of good players that have played a good standard,” said Braithwaite.

“We knew we’d have to dig in and find a win, and we’ve done that, so that’s what matters.”

Dan Bailey’s first-half volley was tipped over by Wroughton goalie Sharkey in the first half before tension spilled over in the second period, with a hefty challenge on Bassett’s George Drewitt sparking an ugly melee which saw Gambling receive a second booking, despite the striker protesting his innocence.

Full-strength Wroughton twice went close to taking advantage through Leigh Brown, with Chris Miles also drawing a save from Ben Mitchell, whilst the visitors’ Henry Traas diverted the ball just over the bar at the far post.

The hosts’ Andy Packer was in the right place at the right time to clear Traas’ header off the line whilst Sharkey beat away another Bailey effort to maintain parity.

But deep into the second half of extra-time, the Wroughton keeper’s cries that he was being held by Bassett’s Hawkins fell on deaf ears and Sharkey tossed the visiting defender to the ground, receiving a straight red for his troubles and allowing Yeardley to fire the match-winning penalty home past stand-in stopper Miles.

Wroughton manager Mark Love is hoping that his side can take some inspiration for their Wiltshire League title charge following this performance.

The Weir Field side had already beaten Sydenhams League giants Bemerton Heath Harlequins in the opening round of the county competition.

Despite his men suffering late heartbreak, Love thinks that his players should be proud of their dogged display and was chuffed with the team spirit on display at the Weir Field.

“I thought when they went down to 10 men, we got on top a little bit and I thought we were going to get to penalties at least,” said Love. “But a moment of madness from our goalkeeper cost us in the end.

“I thought he’d given a corner and their player (Nathan Hawkins) stopped our keeper getting to his goal. But he’s grabbed him and chucked him to the floor.

“The team spirit’s good and it showed that everyone is in it together. There’s still a long season to go and we’re looking to win the league, so it bodes well.

“It was a good day for the club. We put a lot of effort in to make it good for everyone but it’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t get the right result – we’ll go again.”