Southern Premier League

Cirencester Town 2

Chesham United 2

CIRENCESTER TOWN finished with 10 men for the third game in the last four and the indiscipline ultimately led to them dropping another two valuable points in the home clash with Chesham.

Ciren were 2-0 up and cruising to victory even after striker Nat Jarvis was dismissed for a second yellow card on the hour mark.

But Chesham were allowed a way back into the game with a minute of normal time remaining when lively half-time substitute Ryan Blake fired in from a tight angle and the intensely frustrating result for the hosts was completed when Toby Little put away the equaliser from close range off a Connor Wood cross in stoppage time.

The Ciren management team will be frustrated because for the majority of the game the side put in one of its most complete displays of the season – and showed no hangover from the extra-time loss in a gruelling FA Cup replay on Tuesday night.

The back five of Garner, Jones, Henry, Pritchett and Prictor were uniformly excellent, as we have come to expect.

The return to the Cirencester fold this week of Jarvis to play up front with lively wingmen Ed Williams and Aidan Bennett suddenly gave the home side the goal threat they have been missing in recent weeks.

But the key area was in midfield where Matt Liddiard, James Mortimer-Jones and, in particular, Jamie Reid were magnificent. They snapped into tackles, covered a prodigious amount of ground in breaking up attacks and tried to release the front trio at every opportunity.

Town started brightly but Chesham had not come to have their tummies tickled and Glyn Garner had to make two fine saves from Dave Pearce in the opening 20 minutes to keep his side level.

The first turning point came in the 23rd minute when Chesham rather harshly conceded a penalty. Referee Morris whistled for a push on Jarvis in what seemed little more than the customary jostling in the area at a set piece.

Jarvis made it seven goals in 10 games this season (including internationals) when giving Shane Gore no chance from the spot.

Garner came to Ciren’s rescue again with another stop from Peace before Brian Hughes’s team made it 2-0 with a peach of a goal.

Jarvis held the ball up well centrally before releasing Ben Prictor down the left channel and he somehow dug out a terrific cross which a charging Bennett met superbly with his head six yards out.

Jarvis was then involved in two incidents which would have major repercussions later.

In the 35th minute he was inexplicably yellow-carded when going for a header in the box and then, shortly before the interval, he tried to be too cute when presented with a one-on-one situation after Gethin Jones dinked a perfect ball through to the striker having done really well to win the ball in midfield.

Three-nil would have been harsh on the visitors but it is safe to say they would not have come back.

Instead, Chesham came out roaring at the start of the second half with sub Blake instantly giving them a lively outlet up front.

The post saved Ciren as Blake’s first touch, a fine curling effort, rebounded back into play while the former Welsh international keeper saved instinctively with his legs from Toby Little a minute later. But their brisk start petered out.

Then just short of the hour mark, Jarvis blazed over the bar after play had halted for an offside whistle and he naively gave the referee every reason to book him again (and therefore produce the red card) when doing the same thing two minutes later.

Ten-man Ciren stepped up their ferocious work rate still further and appeared to have smothered any hope of a Chesham fightback.

Keen to help run the clock down, manager Hughes withdrew man-of-the-match candidates Mortimer-Jones (81min) and Reid (88min) and it is perhaps no coincidence that the two frustrating late Chesham goals came after they had left the field.

Cirencester Town: Garner, Jones, Prictor, Pritchett, Liddiard, Henry (capt), Reid (Wells, 88), Mortimer-Jones (Edge, 81). Unused subs: Hooper, Elliott.