A disastrous opening ten minutes that saw the Swans ship an astonishing four goals produced a home drubbing at Thornhill Park. 

In the first minute, Chris Zebroski chased down a back pass from Nathan Dennis, and Olly Phillips in the Slimbridge goal saw his attempted clearance cannon off the Bassett Striker and into the net to put the visitors ahead.

Five minutes later, it was two as Alfie Presley converted a free kick on the edge of the Slimbridge box to double to lead. 

As the clock ticked onto ten minutes, a misplaced clearance from Phillips saw Presley notch his second as he lobbed the Slimbridge Keeper, and with the next attack, Brad Pagliaroli’s effort saw the visitors in dreamland as he notched the fourth. 

Astonishing as it may sound, the rest of the half was all Slimbridge – Jack Watts reduced the deficit on 12 minutes, before Sam Blackie’s header was just off target five minutes later. 

After Watts’ effort was saved by Bassett Keeper James Foster, Jack Smith saw a great  cross with no-one to get on the end of it, and then saw his goalbound effort strike the Bassett post before rolling along the line for Foster to retrieve it. 

After Smith and Rhys Sarson both had good efforts blocked, Slimbridge clawed another goal back two minutes before the break Smith’s cross was tapped in by Sarson to mage the score 4-2 at the half. 

There was a moment of controversy early in the second half when Smith was through on goal and appeared to be brought down by Foster, but the Slimbridge man was booked for diving. 

On the hour mark, Presley completed his Hat Trick, for Bassett converting a dangerous cross, and three minutes from time, the Swans pulled another goal back when Phillips’ clearance saw Jack Watts lob the Bassett Keeper. 

In the first minute of stoppage, Bassett recorded their sixth of the afternoon, courtesy of a neat run and shot from Fin Hopkins, on what was truly a bonkers afternoon of football at Thornhill Park. 

Speaking after the game, Swans Joint Manager Tom Deakin said ‘It was a couple of early mistakes, and we got punished quite hard, they had four shots in ten minutes and scored four goals. The rest of the half, I think Ollie had one save to make, but you’re fighting an uphill battle after a start like that, and if you get anything from the game after that, you’ve done very well…

To be back into the game at half time was full credit to the lads, and really, we didn’t want half time to come. Even speaking to San Collier after the game, he said they needed half time and we didn’t. 

Second half I think the game just got broken down, and we never got going, and it was a frustrating end to the game, it seems to be – when we win, we win well, and when we lose, we lose badly. So we need to find that balance.’

The Swans are back on the road on Tuesday night for another League encounter when they travel to Hartpury University, (7.45pm) who are looking to gain revenge for their defeat at Thornhill earlier in the season. Deaks – ‘In terms of the next game being Hartpury, it’s just the next game of football. I’m not worried too much about who they are, what they are or where they are, it’s a game of football at the end of the day and you move onto the next one.. We’ll go there, we’ll work hard, we’ll do our job which is to get three points, and we’ve got to do what best suits us on the night. We’re good as a group at bouncing back, we tend to have a run of three or four games, and then we have a bad one, and then we have another good run, so we’ll see what happens.

Whoever the next team is, we approach at accordingly…’

Team: Phillips, Turner (Evans 54),  Mills (Clayson 45), Blackie, Dennis, Hands, Dark, Welch, Watts, Smith, Sarson (Harper 75)

Goals: Watts 11, 87, Sarson 43

Supporters Cub Man of the Match: Sam Blackie