Cribbs let a 2-goal lead slip to drop points at home in a disappointing result.
Cribbs flew out of the traps and began their half of dominance by forcing the Royal Wootton Bassett keeper into a string of early saves. Steve Murray came the closest to opening the scoring as his curling effort was beaten away by the keeper.
Moments before the save Murray was in again and would have opened the scoring if not for an expert last-ditch tackle to take the ball off Murray just as he was preparing to pull the trigger.
Not long after those succession of chances, Cribbs did take the lead in the 26th minute. A whipped corner from the right taken by Bennett found the head of Ross McErlain whose bullet header evaded the Wootton Bassett defender on the line and powered into the top corner.
Cribbs’ dominance continued all through the half with a number of opportunities to double their advantage. Murray again came close to finding the net, but the Wootton Bassett keeper was equal to his effort.
Soon after this Cribbs did add a second to their tally. Jack Fillingham ran onto a long ball and confidently smashed a half volley past the keeper and into the near post just 7 minutes before the break. That marked Jack’s first goal for Cribbs, and it also marked an incredibly positive first half which saw Cribbs 2-0 up at the break.
The away side came out rejuvenated in the second half and within 2 minutes they had halved the deficit. Bailey Gallagher blasting home following a good run from the winger to give Royal Wootton Bassett hope of a comeback.
On the hour mark, the away side were awarded a penalty which was confidently dispatched by veteran forward Alan Griffin as he rolled the ball into the bottom left corner.
As the game wore on it was Cribbs that re-claimed the ascendancy as they looked for a dramatic late winner.
Steve Murray was denied a penalty just 10 minutes after the visitors levelled but the referee did not point to the spot much to the frustration of the Cribbs coaching staff.
In the last minute of the 90, Cribbs were inches from stealing all three points but a combination of brave defending from the away side and misfortune, which saw Fillingham’s thunderous volley crash off the bar and clear, saw Cribbs disappointingly settle for a point when all three were in tantalising reach.
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