WHAT a marvellous performance – perhaps the best I have seen at The New Lawn.

Alas, I am not referring to Forest Green Rovers but the supporters of Maidstone United who were magnificent.

They never stopped singing and supporting their team.

“Two-nil and you’re still not singing,” they taunted us. Maidstone players kept going thanks to the effect of the "12th man" and stole two goals to equalise.

It was a frustrating result for Forest Green who are stumbling towards the play-offs.

Dreadful performances against North Ferriby and Southport have been punctuated by a fine win at Tranmere and a good display against Chester.

On Saturday there were good and less good aspects to our display.

Firstly chances were created throughout the game – 22 attempts on goal.

Sadly our goals-to-chances ratio is currently very poor, Kaiyne Wollery’s performance being typical. He uses his pace and ability to create opportunities for himself but then cannot finish.

With Christian Doidge also having an off day where were the goals going to come from?

Keanu Marsh-Brown proved some kind of answer scoring a neat individual goal, but he played as a left sided mid-fielder and did little else.

Keanu is not blessed with many defensive skills, neither is Omar Bugiel who replaced him.

Consequently Dan Wishart was left without too much cover and when Maidstone finally realised this they scored twice, both goals coming from attacks down that flank.

The results in this “phoney war” leading up to the play-offs are not important as long as lessons are learned.

“We have been relentless and ruthless,” says Danny Cowley of his amazing Lincoln City side. Manager Mark Cooper should pin that phrase on the dressing room wall.

It is a lesson that so many need to learn, but there is another one as well. The lasting memory of the game was the bubbly and buoyant visiting supporters and at the final whistle we saw the huge rapport between fans and staff. That was a lesson for all of us.

This is the time of year when relegation fears stalk the land, and Cirencester has suffered.

The town soccer club finally succumbed on Saturday. The battle against teams with bigger budgets has proved too great. Manager Charlie Griffin is dead right to start recruiting now. A good start next season will help the promotion push, just as a poor one this time pointed a finger towards the inevitable drop.

Without proper direction Swindon Town have slumped into League Two. Their loyal supporters deserve every sympathy.

Cirencester rugby club are a different case altogether. The young side is capable of playing exciting, exuberant rugby, but at the same time have been on the end of some awful hammerings. Go down, re-group, get used to winning and come back stronger. That is the message there.

Mrs Light and I have been at Bristol over the weekend for the county championship game against Durham, who are a very useful side. Skipper Paul Collingwood is an example to all over forties – two wickets, four slip catches and 97 very useful runs in the first innings.

We were there for the opening of the museum, a task performed by former captain Mark Alleyne MBE.

Mark is now in charge of cricket at Marlborough College. He has just taken the college cricketers on a tour of Barbados. Two of them approached him in concerned fashion. “Whatever made you leave this island paradise?” they asked. I do not know either but it was good for Gloucestershire cricket he did.

The Durham chairman did not appear. Appointing Sir Ian Botham to that post was odd. Make him president certainly, but the nitty gritty of being chairman is not for him.

At Thursday's AGM our county club appointed their first woman president, Marie Journeaux. Marie is well known in the county and has just moved to Bristol. It is an outstanding appointment.

My use of the word outstanding reminds me of Fairford FC. This bubbly and buoyant club have deservedly won promotion.

Bubbly and buoyant? That's the second time I have used that phrase in this article. It must be in anticipation of the play-offs!