Evo-Stik Southern League Premier

Arlesey Town 1 Cirencester Town 2

CIRENCESTER TOWN survived a 10-minute ‘wobble’ in the second half before roaring back from a goal down to claim all three points at Arlesey Town.

Ciren were not quite at their clinical free-scoring best but the victory was nothing more than they deserved after dominating the vast majority of the game.

It required two goals from full back Ellis Dunton, including a brilliant stoppage-time header, to take their league winning sequence to four, three of them on the road.

Manager Brian Hughes preferred not to change his front three who had looked so dynamic in recent games which meant that star striker Nat Jarvis, newly returned from the Caribbean Cup in which he played for his national side Antigua and Barbuda, had to settle for a place on the bench.

With captain Leigh Henry deemed a game away from a possible return from injury, Kyle Pitts held on to his place in the back four and the Development Side’s captain again did not look out of place.

Ciren’s trio up top – Josh Parsons, Ed Williams and Aidan Bennett – were a handful for the hosts’ defence as the Centurions built up the chance count in the opening 45 minutes.

To their credit Arlesey were utterly committed in defence, throwing their bodies in the way of shots and thwarting Parsons, in particular, on a number of occasions.

But they were lucky to survive when a low Williams shot came back off the post in the 22nd minute, while the clearest chance of the half was spooned over the bar by the otherwise excellent Matt Liddiard two minutes before the interval.

Ciren continued to offer the only goal threat in the second period until, in the 67th minute, Arlesey mounted their first assault on the away box which demanded two crucial saving tackles by Dunton.

However, four minutes later, and after a fortunate save from keeper Nick Thompson at the other end, Arlesey were in front. The hosts broke quickly and Stefan Bailey outjumped the Ciren defence to score with a looping header off a Dean Mason cross.

Out of nowhere, Arlesey were energised and Ciren rattled. Garner, who felt he was at fault for the goal, produced a fine double save five minutes later to prevent his side going 2-0 down and a full length save from the resulting corner.

The normally watertight Ciren defence eventually regained their discipline and with Jarvis and Chris Knowles coming on for industrious midfield pairing of James Mortimer-Jones (having his 200th game for the club) and Brad Hopper in the 80th minute, the visitors went in search of an equaliser.

Jarvis was immediately involved playing a one-two with left back Dunton, who kept his composure in the box to lift a header over the advancing Thompson.

The ball had just enough on it to get over the line in the 82nd minute before it was bundled into the net by a mass of bodies.

Williams then hit the woodwork for the second time in the game, his cracking 88th-minute drive coming back off the bar.

But a relentless Ciren were not to be denied and a minute into stoppage time a perfectly-placed Williams free kick from deep on the right was finished with a classic set-piece power header from Dunton.

With a defeat for Corby and a surprise draw for St Neots Town at Bideford, the play-off chasing teams, including seventh-placed Ciren, are bunching up behind clear leaders Poole.

Cirencester Town: Garner, Pitts, Dunton, Pritchett (capt), Liddiard, Jones, Hooper (Jarvis, 80), Mortimer-Jones (Knowles, 80), Parsons, Bennett, Williams.

Unused subs: Wells, Prictor.