Basingstoke Town saw their incredible 15-game win streak brought to an abrupt end on Saturday’s annual ‘Non-League Day’, when they were beaten 1-0 by Hanworth Villa at Winklebury.

‘Stoke were convincing victors the last time the sides met, winning 4-0 at Rectory Meadow in West London. George Reid and Ezio Touray scored single goals, whilst top scorer Brad Wilson netted a brace to secure a thumping win.

That result was Basingstoke’s first three points of the league campaign, however securing a double over the Villains was always going to prove to be a difficult task. They sat fifth in the table, one point inside the play-off places, and had only lost twice in their previous seven matches – with both defeats coming against sides placed above them in the league.

The game started rather passively, but it was Hanworth who registered the first shot in the game. Quickly latching onto a misplaced long pass from Basingstoke defender Scott Armsworth, Meshach Williams was set in behind the backline, however the bouncing ball was awkward to control and the eventual shot caused Paul Strudley no problems at his near left-hand post.  

The hosts then began to dominate the game and control the majority of possession, although they were unable to really work any clear goalscoring opportunities. George Reid was cynically fouled on the edge of the box by Williams as he darted inside from the right flank, resulting in a free-kick in a dangerous position. Reid stood over the ball and bent an excellent left-footed effort onto the frame of the goal, with goalkeeper Gary Ross rooted to the spot.

Basingstoke went close again on the stroke of half-time, with Reid at the centre of the action once more. Left-back Callum Winchcombe fizzed a low ball into the box, which Sam Argent was unable to control. George Reid took advantage of a poor pass out from Theo Crawford, however, and neatly spun away from the midfielder before driving a powerful strike narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

That was as close as we got to an opener in the first half, and the sides went into the break goalless after a somewhat lacklustre opening 45 minutes.

Hanworth Villa’s start to the second period was far from lacklustre, however, as they were on the front foot straight from kick-off – winning a corner after a promising break down the left. The concession of the set piece ended up being costly for Basingstoke, as it resulted in Villa taking the lead. The in-swinging ball was looped into the box, and Tom Bender glanced on a delicate header. The knock-down wasn’t dealt with by the league leaders and Theo Crawford was the quickest to react, lifting it into the top-right corner to put his side ahead. (0-1)

‘Stoke could have equalised just minutes later, when Sam Argent remarkably flashed a golden chance over the crossbar. Reid cleverly played an early free-kick forward to Marcus Johnson-Schuster, who swung an excellent cross into the box. No.19 Argent was lurking in the middle, but he headed the ball into the ground and saw it agonisingly bounce over the bar, with Gary Ross at full stretch.

A handful of chances came and went for Basingstoke, as they failed to score in a game for the first time in 16 league matches.

Second-placed Walton & Hersham won their game, 3-1 at Uxbridge, to close the gap at the top to just a single point before the Top Two face each other at the Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub next Saturday.

After falling to defeat in front of a season-high league record crowd of 1,028 on Saturday, Basingstoke bounced back with a 2-1 win over Alresford Town in the semi-finals of the North Hampshire Cup on Tuesday – booking a final with Romsey Town.