Basingstoke Town extended their superb recent run of form, as they beat Bedfont Sports 3-1 – to earn a seventh win from their last eight games, in all competitions.

‘Stoke were aiming to secure a maiden away victory of 2023 at their first opportunity. However, Bedfont were no pushovers and Dan Brownlie’s side would have to overcome one of last season’s fellow play-off semi finalists if they were to up-keep their 100 per cent start to the calendar year.

The Bedfont Recreation ground is located less than a mile away from Heathrow Airport, making plane-spotting a popular activity to pass the time, however the supporters were given no reason to do so as both sides came out of the blocks quickly in the opening stages – causing an exciting and end-to-end affair early on.

Slight opportunities arose for the two teams throughout the first half an hour, although Basingstoke’s main memory from the opening 30 minutes would most likely have been the injury that forced centre-back Billy Upton to be replaced by the returning Scott Armsworth.

The in-form No.6 went down clutching his left leg, after he cleared a flicked-on header from the Bedfont attacker under no obvious pressure.

After an opening half when clear goal-scoring chances were rare, Basingstoke did manage to take the lead on the stroke of half-time – through wing wizard George Reid. The superbly-worked goal began when the home side were on the attack, as their move was cut short by Michael Atkinson – who saw his interception moved swiftly through the midfield before Brad Wilson drove into the box and cut the ball back for Reid, who is not likely to have a simpler finish all season. (0-1)

Not content with his assist late on in the first half, top scorer Brad Wilson grabbed his first goal of the game to double the ‘Stoke lead. Ben Cook was again pivotal in the build-up, as he relentlessly hunted down the ball and blocked the defender’s pass before heading the ball down and sliding it into Wilson’s path for the forward to slot home with his ‘weaker’ left foot. (0-2)

The second half went from bad to worse for the Eagles, who lost their goalkeeper Cairo Richards, after he was involved in a nasty collision with his right-back whilst coming out to claim Basingstoke ‘keeper Paul Studley’s long, bouncing goal-kick.

The game didn’t go without a scare for the visitors, however, as Bedfont Sports – who boasted the third-best scoring record in the bottom half of the table – managed to pull one back with 20 minutes left on the clock. Nathan Smart’s poor pass to fellow central defender Scott Armsworth laid up nicely for Steve Ngunga on the edge of the box – who got the ball under control before firing past Paul Strudley into the bottom right corner. (1-2)

Dan Brownlie’s side were edging towards the end of the game and were closing in on the three points, when Brad Wilson put the game beyond any doubt as he latched onto the afore-mentioned Smart’s long free-kick and made the net ripple in league action for the 17th time this campaign - with his second left-footed strike of the match. (1-3)

It was another job well done for Basingstoke Town, on what was an eventful away day in Greater London, as they now shift their focus onto Saturday, when they welcome play-off hopefuls Westfield to Winklebury.