Red Insure Cup Third Round.

Cirencester Town 1, Sholing 4.

A DAZZLING display of striking power from Sholing’s Lee Wort dumped Cirencester Town unceremoniously out of the Red Insure Cup on Tuesday night.

The 19-year-old Wort scored a remarkable 58 goals for his side’s reserves last season and has already bagged 15 goals in just five appearances for Sholing’s second string this campaign, including five in the Wessex Combination game against Hayling Utd Reserves a fortnight ago.

Sholing, top of the Zamaretto Division 1 South & West came to the Corinium so high on confidence they could afford to rest a number of first-teamers.

In contrast, Brian Hughes’ Centurions had lost their first three matches of the New Year and were without Mark Draycott and Justyn McKay (both cup-tied), Jody Bevan (holiday) and Chris Thompson, who this week announced his retirement from football.

A fragile Town simply had no answer to the pace, strength and finishing prowess of hat-trick man Wort.

No one typifies Ciren’s dip in fortune more alarmingly than centre back and captain Lyndon Tomkins.

For so long the rock of their defence, Tomkins is suffering a major crisis in form and confidence and played his part in the first three Sholing goals which were rattled home in the first 16 minutes.

In the seventh minute a cross from the left deceived Tomkins and Wort had controlled and buried it past Matt Bulman before either the captain or Matt Jack could make a covering tackle.

Two minutes later, Wort exposed the lack of pace in the Ciren back line and ran on to a through ball before readily lobbing the advancing Bulman.

And to complete a sorry first quarter of an hour for the Ciren defence, Sholing captain Kevin Gibbens outjumped Tomkins to head home the third.

Sholing were good, very good, and could have had more first-half goals, while Cirencester were never at the races and their only sight on goal was when Matt Sysum shot over after some right wing trickery from England Schools prospect Connor Thompson.

Thompson was by some way Ciren’s best player on the night and it was only justice that he should get a goal in the 52nd minute to reward his skill and boundless enthusiasm.

Picking up a partially-cleared corner on the edge of the box he did not hesitate before slamming a right footer back past Mike Hookway in the Sholing goal.

Ciren were at last regaining some pride and Carl Brown had a couple of chances to narrow the gap still further.

But just as Town were building some momentum, that man Wort pounced on a miscued defensive clearance and volleyed past Bulman to complete his eye-catching hat-trick.

Cirencester: Bulman, Reid, Jack, Sysum, Wood (Dunton, 73), Tomkins (capt), Westlake (Banks, 73), Mortimer-Jones, Connor Thompson, Brown, Etheridge. Unused sub: Dunn.

Ciren MoM: Thompson; Sholing MoM: Wort.