CIRENCESTER Town suffered a surprise defeat at lowly Hadley on Saturday as their play-off hopes were dealt a blow.

It was a below-par performance from The Centurions, who struggled to create any real chances and a 67th-minute winner from Jordan Edwards sealed three precious points for Hadley in their quest to avoid relegation.

Finley Aldridge had the game's first chance, firing wide of the post having been played in by Jordan Edwards. Cirencester's Ben Whitehead went up the other end and saw his shot saved by keeper Luke Ward.

It was a frantic opening quarter but still neither side was able to find the opener, although Luke Alfano saw his header creep just wide from a free-kick and Aldridge went close with a volley into the side-netting.

Cirencester had struggled to create too much in the way of clear-cut opportunities and generally were not quite at their best and fell behind with 23 minutes left on the clock.

Edwards arrived unchallenged to an Alvin Kyeremeh cross, planting a firm header into the net to break the deadlock and give the hosts a surprise lead, but not one that their performance didn't warrant on the balance of play.

The home side enjoyed a period of pressure in the next few minutes but were unable to double their lead, giving Cirencester hope of getting back into it.

But in truth, the away side didn't really manage to cause Ward any real issues in the hosts' goal and it was Hadley who had the chances to extend their lead in the closing stages.

Cirencester stay fourth in the Southern League Division One Central table but the sides below them are now within range to strike should they drop points again or win their games in hand.