BASINGSTOKE TOWN | GOLDEN GOAL

D'Andre Brown has take the Goal of the Season honour

The Goal of the Season accolade has gone to D’Andre Brown of Basingstoke Town for his strike against Wimborne Town in December.

He beat off the challenge of Callum Ryan-Phillips of Merthyr Town and Hanwell Town’s Jordan Edwards.

“It’s really pleasing to have won as I was competing against some great strikes,” he told us. “It’s a proud moment and a nice memory to look back on.

“I was in good form and full of confidence at the time. We won a free-kick on the edge of the area and I just instantly, and possibly selfishly, stood over the ball to take it.

“It was one of those moments where as soon as it left my boot, I had a good feeling about it. It also proved to be the winning goal as we came from behind to get a 2-1 victory; those three points were crucial in the end.”

The final Pitching In Southern League Premier South table saw the club just two points clear of the relegation zone with a 4-0 final day victory over Champions, Merthyr Town, seeing them to safety.

“In typical Basingstoke fashion we made it tough for ourselves,” Brown continued. “Having started off the season really positively, our form took a dip and we gave ourselves a lot to do come the final stretch.

“We were able to finish on a high with the victory over Merthyr Town and hopefully we can build on that during the season ahead.

“Personally it was a mixed season. As I say, I was in good form and enjoying my football going into the New Year, but then suffered an injury at the end of January which kept me out until late March.

“It was tough to deal with, but I believe that I put in some good performances across the course of the season, it’s just a shame I couldn’t keep the momentum going into the second half of the campaign.

“This is a tough League. Some of the results were really unpredictable and that’s what made it so exciting. There’s a lot of good teams at this level and already we’re looking forward to what the upcoming season holds in store.

“Hopefully I can stay fit and play as much as I can. Collectively we will be looking to improve and learn from this season; we know that we underperformed and made it difficult for ourselves at times, so I’d like to think that we can turn the disappointment into motivation.”

Defender, Marcus Johnson-Schuster, a regular in the back-line throughout the campaign, agrees. “The season definitely didn’t go how we hoped that it would. We wanted to achieve a much higher finish and be pushing for the play offs.

“I was pleased with the number of games I was able to get under my belt; I was consistent in my performances in what is a strong League which just gets better and better with each new season.

“There’s plenty of hard work going on behind-the-scenes to ensure that we are able to compete and progress as a club on and off the field.”

IMAGE: Basingstoke Town FC

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