Bassett set for 1,200th Hellenic League fixture

Saturday's fixture against Cinderford Town represents a significant milestone for Royal Wootton Bassett Town with the game being the club's 1,200th Hellenic League fixture. Now in the club's 36th season of membership - and 17th in the Premier Division, Bassett have faced 102 different opponents - a number due to rise to 103 when Sam Collier and his side play Worcester City. The most frequent opponents for Bassett have been Cheltenham Saracens (42 games), followed by Purton, Clanfield and Easington Sports (38 games). Of Bassett's current Premier Division rivals, the most games have been played against Highworth Town (35), followed by Tuffley Rovers (28). Life in the Hellenic started inauspiciously for Bassett, as they lost their opening fixture 3-0 against Cheltenham Town Reserves at Rylands Way. It took until their third game to register a first goal, with two coming in a draw against local rivals Purton. An opening victory eventually came at the fifth time of asking as visitors Easington were defeated 4-1 courtesy of a Damon York hat trick. While the club's only trophies during their time in the Hellenic League have come in cup competitions, their journey to 1,200 games has seen some highs, with three promotion winning campaigns (1999-2000, 2009-10 and 2012-13) - the latter two achieved by finishing as Division One West runners-up, as well as the lows, most notably relegation from the Premier Division in 2004-05 and demotion in 2010-11. Overall, the club's record currently stands at played 1,199, won 462, drew 246, lost 491, scored 1,875, conceded 2,023. In previous milestone games, Bassett have fared as follows: Game 1: L 0-3 v Cheltenham Town Reserves (H - 20 August 1988) Game 50: W 2-0 v Easington Sports (H - 24 March 1990) Game 100: L 2-3 v Tuffley Rovers (H - 9 November 1991) Game 200: L 1-4 v Milton United (A 1 January 1995) Game 250: L 2-9 v Milton United (A - 22 April 1996) Game 300: W 4-1 v Watlington Town (H - 15 November 1997) Game 400: W 2-0 v Wantage Town (H - 30 January 2001) Game 500: L 0-1 v Hook Norton (A - 16 August 2003) Game 600: D 1-1 v Pewsey Vale (H - 27 December 2005) Game 700: L 0-2 v Purton (H - 31 January 2009) Game 750: W 8-0 v Oxford City Nomads (A - 21 August 2010) Game 800: W 2-0 v Clanfield (A - 5 November 2011) Game 900: L 2-3 v Ascot United (H - 27 September 2014) Game 1000: W 3-2 v Oxford City Nomads (A - 1 April 2017) Game 1100: D 2-2 v Ardley United (H - 3 March 2020) Biggest win: W 13-1 v Trowbridge Town (A - 2 January 2012 Biggest defeat: L 0-8 v Bishops Cleeve (A - 5 October 2002) and v Highworth Town (A - 28 December 2015) For a comprehensive overview of Basset's entire history - and not just the years it has proudly spent as a member of the Hellenic League - visit the club's extensive archive at: https://rwbtfc.co.uk/history/archive/.