Evo-Stik Southern League

Premier Division

Cinderford Town 0

Cirencester Town 2

BOTH Gloucestershire sides were in desperate need of victory in this mid-week fixture as they currently occupy positions at the wrong end of the Southern League Premier Division table, and as a result it was played at a frantic pace that exhibited plenty of effort but limited the quality on display.

Cirencester picked up a valuable three points to boost their hopes of survival, coming away with a 2-0 win against Cinderford.

The visitors had a perfect start to the encounter as three minutes into the game Ross Langworthy opened the scoring.

The Cirencester man hit a firm strike inside the left post from the edge of the home penalty area as Ciren dared to dream.

However, they came close to spurning the narrow lead, as within minutes Cinderford created a one v one situation between Karnell Chambers and Harvey Rivers, but Cirences- ter’s goalkeeper saved with his legs to ensure the visitors held onto their 1-0 advantage.

Both sides had pace going forward with Blane Waugh (Cinderford) and new-boy James Difford (Cirencester) prominent.

The game continued at a frantic pace after the interval but it was Cirencester who scored the all important next goal around the mid- point of the half to give themselves some daylight, taking the pressure off.

Some possession football on the right flank yielded a corner kick.

The kick was initially defended but when it was fired back at the goal, Gethin Hill, who was still on the goal-line following the corner kick, was adjudged to have handled.

He was given a red card and Cirencester subsequently were awarded a penalty.

Matt Liddiard made no mistake from 12 yards, placing the spot kick inside the right post. Cinderford had nothing to lose now with 10-men and a two-goal deficit with not long left on the clock, so they pushed hard to try and pull a goal back.

They threatened on occasion, but it’s clear why Cinderford Town also enduring a difficult campaign in the Premier Division as they struggled to create anything of note to get themselves back into the match.

In the end, Cirencester saw the game out and took all three points, but there’s still plenty of improvements to be made.

For manager Charlie Griffin, he’ll be feeling relieved as the situation looked precarious for a time.

The Town boss has dipped his hand in the transfer market in a bid to turn the club’s fortunes around and will be happy with what he saw from one of his new recruits James Difford.

Griffin will be desperate to build on their recent victory to ensure they can haul themselves from the relegation zone.