FOOTBALL: Cirencester end home drought (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Goals from Reid and Collier derail Didcot

11:20am Sunday 2nd September 2012 in Sport By Danny Hall, Sports Editor

Evo-Stik League Southern Div 1 S&W.

Cirencester Town 2 Didcot Town 0.

CIRENCESTER won their first home league match since January when disposing of Didcot 2-0 at the Corinium on Saturday.

Town were in control from the outset and well worth their three points.

James Mortimer-Jones and Ben Wells dominated the midfield exchanges and the energetic presence of MoM Jamie Reid kept The Railwaymen, whose manager Dave Mudge had departed in the week, on the back foot.

It was Wells and Reid who combined for a fine first goal. Wells’ firmly-struck dead balls have been a feature of Ciren’s season so far and Reid timed his run exquisitely to meet a Wells free kick in the 15th minute, his powerful header flashing past the lurid orange kit of Marco Belloli in the Didcot goal.

Belloli had previously come to Didcot’s rescue when acrobatically saving a miscued header from his own defender Jamie Heapy and he had to be alert throughout, often punching clear Wells’ crosses and corners under severe pressure.

Didcot were having some success from the direct running of Morgan Williams, while centre forward James Clark should have equalised when sent clear by a fine ball from Sam Elkins in the 29th minute, only to shoot wide of Matt Bath’s goal.

For all their dominance, Ciren went to sleep at the end of the half and Brian Bowles and Williams both should have done better with late chances.

However, the game was over as a contest five minutes into the second period. Scott Griffin left two defenders for dead and threaded a slide-rule pass down the left flank for Aidan Bennett.

A similar attack in the first half had seen Reid unable to convert a Bennett cross but this time Sam Collier made no mistake from close range. It gave the hard-working striker a confidence-boosting first official goal in Town colours.

Around the hour mark, Griffin again turned his defender well and sent a rasping shot just over the bar.

If anything, Town were even more comfortable in the second period and boss Brian Hughes could afford the luxury of withdrawing Collier, Reid and Griffin late on.

Two goals, a clean sheet and no bookings will have delighted Hughes, but his defence will have to cut out the type of lapse which presented Didcot striker Clark with a golden chance in the 87th minute, another one-on-one gift which he spurned.

Attendance: 105 Cirencester Town: Bath, Allard, Dunton, Sysum (C), Wells, Thompson, Reid (Shepherd, 78), Mortimer-Jones, Collier (Packer, 82) Griffin (Hawkins, 74), Bennett. Unused subs: Bailey, Hale.