Ciren Town suffer fourth successive defeat (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Ciren Town suffer fourth successive defeat

Cirencester Town 0, Evesham Utd 1 (Duncan 8)

WITH two matches in three days, the Bank Holiday weekend was never going to be much of a break for many teams in the league.

But with two straight defeats in two matches Ciren must be praying for their dire season to end.

On paper, the match against Evesham, a team already relegated, was easy - just put away a few goals and sit back and entertain the crowd. However, things did not really go to plan as Ciren failed to make their mark in a fast-paced game.

Evesham attacked from the off, dominating possession with strong starts from Andrew Smith and Chad Shepherd.

The goal came on the eight-minute mark when a complete loss of communication, between Adie Viveash and Paul Thompson, saw the Ciren goalkeeper come to the edge of the box only to see Evesham's Steve Duncan put the ball behind him and into the back of the net.

It looked as if the disagreement that followed, between Viveash and Thompson, could have gone a bit Dyer/Bowyer but after a shout and a shove the pair went back to a stony silence.

The lack of communication, which led to the game's only goal, is typical of the way Ciren have played on many occasions this season and again the Centurions' bad habits were back with the few attacking chances wasted.

Evesham pushed on and came close, just three minutes after the first goal, from a corner, which was eventually spirited away by Thompson.

Although the skills of Arndale and Jackson were shown in flashes in the second half, there really is no place for showboating when you are a goal down to a team that is already relegated.

Ciren started the second half on the attack but despite their intentions and a vocal support from the youngsters at the academy, who were out in force, no equaliser was going to come easily.

With the increasingly vocal Evesham manager, Paul West, putting on quite a display on the touch-line, the lack of noise between the Ciren players became only too clear.

The Ciren captain, Arndale, tried and tried to push forward but when chances like Simon Cowes', a quarter of an hour into the half, were squandered the rest of the match looked bleak.

With just two matches left this season, Ciren must be beginning to look back at their performances but maybe Monday's match is one they would rather forget.

Man of the match: Evesham's Chad Shepherd for a strong, attacking performance with great flashes of pace.

Cirencester Town: Thompson, Arndale, Viveash, Haisley, Jackson, Richards, Lapham (Griffin 78), Smith, Symons, Cowe, Wimble

Evesham Utd: Knurek, Watson, Smith, Hands, Blake, Hodnett, Shepherd, Duncan, Curtis, Fox, Taylor (West, 64)

Attendance: 239