Uhlsport Hellenic Div 1 West.

Malmesbury Victoria 2, Cricklade 1.

A SPIRITED and hard working Malmesbury side proved too strong for Cricklade, who put on a lacklustre display, especially in the first half.

Malmesbury deserved their second victory of the season with a good team effort and great work by their back four.

Cricklade had a lot of talent on show but never put in the effort needed to win games until it was too late and they gave away two really poor goals.

In the 20th minute, against the run of play, a ball was not dealt with by the Cricklade back four and Malmesbury’s Ed Wilkins slotted it into an empty net.

In the second half, Cricklade looked brighter and took the game to Malmesbury creating some great openings, with Davies, Carter and Maximen all going close.

On 65 minutes, Carter was through on goal only to be pulled back by the impressive Hunt, but the striker had his resulting penalty saved.

Cricklade were made to pay when Green was caught on the ball and let McCarthy clear on goal.

Jackson made a great initial block only for the ball to drop back at McCarthy’s feet and he slid the ball into the empty net.

Cricklade then showed a bit of spirit to try a get something from the game, again getting into dangerous areas.

Maximen was pulled down inside the area and Moulden made no mistake from the spot.

But Cricklade held on to prove worthy winners of this derby.