CIRENCESTER TOWN made it five away wins in a row as they kept up the pressure on Merthyr at the head of the Calor Div One South & West division which is starting to look like a two-horse affair.

Calor Southern Div One South & West

Wimborne Town 0

Cirencester Town 1

CIRENCESTER TOWN made it five away wins in a row as they kept up the pressure on Merthyr at the head of the Calor Div One South & West division which is starting to look like a two-horse affair.

The battling 1-0 victory at Wimborne, courtesy of Jody Bevan’s 251st league goal, took Ciren within six points of Merthyr but they not only have three games in hand of their Welsh rivals but also of third-placed Mangotsfield, who are a further six points adrift.

The St David’s Day clash between the Centurions and Merthyr on the Martyrs’ plastic pitch is becoming more mouth-watering by the day.

The game at a very muddy Cuthbury was the only match in the division to survive on Saturday but the going underfoot was like a bog in places.

Wimborne, who have released four players recently, had their share of possession but the best opportunities fell to Cirencester.

Twice in the first half, long throws into the box from Ellis Dunton resulted in chances but both Sean Wood and Steve Davies put their hastily-taken shots over the bar.

The Magpies’ best chance in the game fell to Mark Gamble during an early spell of pressure when he just beat Glyn Garner in a chase for a loose ball outside the box, only to put his snatched lob over the bar.

Ciren enjoyed a spell of superiority in the second period and a fine move resulted in Davies racing on to a pass into the box, only to be denied by a great stop from keeper Jason Harvell.

But three minutes after he came off the bench veteran Bevan grabbed the winner, though he owed a lot to the persistence of strike partner Lee Smith.

Smith went down in the box under challenge but quickly rose to his feet and, though forced out wide, he managed to turn and send a dangerous ball to the edge of the six-yard box.

Bevan took one touch to round his marker and then prodded the ball past Harvell and a defender from close range.

Bevan has now scored in each of Ciren’s last two completed league games, albeit five weeks apart.

Wimborne again saw plenty of the ball in the last 25 minutes without ever troubling Garner in the Ciren goal as the visitors kept an admirable clean sheet to earn three crucial points.

Cirencester Town: Garner, Anson (capt), Henry, Pritchett, Dunton, Mortimer-Jones, Liddiard, Wood (Bevan, 58), Bennett (Shepherd, 58), Davies, Smith.

Unused subs: Hooper, Prictor, Holland.