Evo-Stik Southern League Premier

Cirencester Town 2 Truro City 0

TWO carbon copy Jacob Davidge goals helped keep Cirencester Town’s season alive as they saw off Truro 2-0 at the Corinium Stadium.

In a game of few clear-cut chances the pacy winger buried both his opportunities in either half with clinical precision.

Manager Brian Hughes had alerted his players to the need for a result in this middle leg of a difficult three-game spell against top-six sides if they were to maintain any realistic play-off push.

The Truro clash had assumed greater importance after the loss at faltering Weymouth the previous Saturday, but on this occasion they were up for the challenge and ran out comfortable winners.

Ciren’s two most prolific strikers, Nat Jarvis and Josh Parsons were unavailable through injury but Davidge stepped up to the plate with his two unerring finishes.

Meanwhile, the defence, though under pressure for long periods of the second half, restricted Truro to scraps, and Glyn Garner chipped in with a late penalty save.

Ciren took the game to their opponents in the early stages and though wasting a good free kick opportunity when Truro keeper Kyle Moore handled outside the area, they did go close via a glancing Pritchett header that had to be headed over the bar by Edward Palmer, while Moore needed two goes to keep out a Davidge effort.

A promising mazy run by Ellis Dunton in the 18th minute was thwarted late on in the area but Ciren were in front six minutes later.

Aidan Bennett did well to win the ball in midfield and fed James Mortimer-Jones who sent a defence-splitting pass into space for Davidge and the young winger pulled the trigger without hesitation to smash it past Moore.

The game then descended into a series of niggly scraps and stoppages, with Bennett and Pugh perhaps lucky to stay on the pitch after an off-the-ball altercation in the 42nd minute.

Truro for all their bluster had failed to muster a single meaningful shot on target; Palmer chanced his arm from long range on at least three occasions without troubling Garner.

Ciren’s task was made harder when Dunton came out of a 55th-minute tackle clutching his knee in pain and had to be stretchered off.

Sensing blood, Truro upped their game but they found the Ciren back four of Herring, Jones, Pritchett and Liddiard in an unforgiving mood.

The pressure on the home side certainly eased in the 66th minute when Davidge was again released down the left channel, this time by a slide-rule pass from sub Ben Wells and the youngster again found a square foot of space in Moore’s bottom right hand corner with a firm finish.

Cody Cooke was sent into the fray from the Truro bench and immediately looked a handful with his touch and strength, but when the referee whistled for a penalty for a foul as Les Afful headed away from goal, Cooke’s tamely-hit spot kick was easily gathered by Garner.

Truro had run out of ideas long before the final whistle, Indeed, Cirencester came close to making it 3-0 deep in stoppage time when a well-worked opening fell to Bennett whose goal-bound shot was saved by Moore’s legs.

Defeats for Weymouth and Corby and the goalless draw between leaders Poole and St Neots Town did Ciren some favours. Next weekend they face the third of the perceived crunch matches at St Neots Town. Cirencester Town: Garner, Herring, Dunton (Wells, 55), Pritchett (capt), Liddiard, Jones, Hooper, Mortimer-Jones, Davidge (Knight, 85), Bennett, Williams (Ricketts, 79).

Unused sub: Pitts.