WOOTTON Bassett managed to grind out a useful point in their Premier Division derby against Fairford.

Pete Yeardley's side could have taken all three after taking the lead in a gruelling encounter littered with bookings.

Simon Gregory's equaliser saw the game finish 1-1, but the draw was enough to lift Bassett a further place away from the drop zone.

Yeardley's men would have had their sights set on mid-table after going ahead on 21 minutes.

Tony Macek swung in a corner which Fairford keeper James Price could only fumble into his own net.

Bassett have now scored direct from corners in their last two fixtures, albeit with a little help from Price.

The hosts should have extended their lead after dominating the first 45 minutes.

John Magani, Macek and Geoff Swatton all had decent chances but failed to convert.

Fairford hit back after the break to make Bassett rue their continued wastefulness in front of goal.

The equaliser arrived five minutes into the second period as a long Luke Sharps free-kick was tapped in by Gregory at the far post.

Both teams slugged it out for the remainder of the game, with Neil Bridges and Magani again going close for Bassett and Chris Knowles almost pinching a win for the visitors.

Despite a decent point against an ever-resolute Fairford outfit, Yeardley felt his side should have captured their sixth league victory of the season.

He said: "I was a bit disappointed to be honest, we should have taken all three points.

"We created four or five very good chances and I thought we did enough to win the game. It was a good team performance.

"Credit to Fairford though, they are always well organised and very hard to break down."

Fairford chief Mark Webb agreed that Bassett had been the better side. He said: "We were very fortunate to be only a goal down at half-time.

"I was happy with that because Bassett had put us under a lot of pressure.

"We didn't play well but to be fair, Bassett didn't let us."

Highworth squandered a two-goal lead at title rivals Hungerford as Adam Giles enjoyed a dream debut.

The former Supermarine striker put John Fisher's side 2-0 ahead with goals either side of half-time.

But Darren Howell halved the deficit with 20 minutes to go and Jason Brizzell netted late to earn the hosts a 2-2 draw.

The result moves Hungerford to within two points of leaders Didcot who had their game at Slimbridge called off.

Highworth slipped to seventh as Bishops Cleeve won 3-0 at Almondsbury to leapfrog the Swindon side.

Unbeaten Purton continue to lead Division One West after a 3-1 win at Cheltenham Saracens.

Kenny Hughes scored early in each half to put Alan Clark's side 2-0 up.

Toby Clark scored from the spot with 10 minutes left to make the game safe before the hosts bagged a late consolation.

Purton remain a point ahead of Ardley who dealt Shrivenham's title aspirations a massive blow.

A 3-1 win over Alan Dyton's side kept the Oxfordshire outfit breathing down Purton's necks but pushed Shrivenham down to seventh.

Michael Silvanus netted for Dyton's men.

Third-placed Ross fell further behind the top two albeit with games in hand after their trip to Cirencester United fell foul of the elements. Malmesbury Vics slipped to third from bottom after a 2-0 defeat at Easington. Goals from Joel Bloxham and Steve Worthington condemned Graham Learmonth's charges to another defeat.