Evo-Stik League Southern League

Cirencester Town 3 Frome Town 1

CIRENCESTER needed two goals in the last five minutes to get past Frome who provided sterner opposition than their lowly league position might have suggested.

Frome were boosted by recent recruits Lewis Haldane (ex-Yate) and the pacy Omar Simpson (ex-Chippenham), while Ciren were forced to play the last 20 minutes or so with 10 men after Aidan Bennett picked up his second yellow card.

Ben Wells and the back-from-injury Ben Prictor returned to the Cirencester squad and new signing Chris Knowles got his first minutes in a red and black shirt when coming off the bench in the second half.

Cirencester immediately put the visitors under pressure to such good effect that Frome’s first attack didn’t come until the 12th minute – but it could have produced a goal.

Haldane rounded keeper Glyn Garner but his goal-bound shot was cleared off the line by an alert Kyle Pitts.

Encouraged by the near-miss, Frome began to probe the home defence, but it was Ciren who opened the scoring in the 18th minute.

Josh Parsons was hauled down just outside the penalty area and picked himself up to drive a low free kick inside the post – his first goal for the club.

The remainder of the half proved even with chances for both sides.

Five minutes into the second half, Haldane finally got his reward as he latched on to a ball from Matt Smith, shrugged off one challenge and slipped the ball under the advancing Garner to level the scores.

The tempo of the second half was much higher than the first with both sides striving to take the lead.

The deadlock was broken in the 73rd minute. An Ellis Dunton long throw from the right was headed on at the near post by Matt Liddiard and Gethin Jones charged forward to head home from two yards.

The Cirencester ranks were reduced five minutes later when Bennett was dismissed after a tackle on the touchline, but it did not deter Cirencester from pushing forward.

As the clock reached 90 minutes, Parsons carried the ball into the area with a couple of defenders snapping at his heels and he was eventually brought to ground.

Parsons took the kick himself and sent Darren Chitty in the wrong direction to complete a 3-1 scoreline.

Cirencester Town: Garner, Pitts, Dunton, Pritchett (capt), Liddiard, Jones, Hooper (Knowles, 74), Mortimer-Jones, Parsons, Bennett, Williams.

Unused subs: Wells, Prictor, Davidge.