Cirencester Town FC
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Cirencester made the short journey to Stroud to face neighbours Brimscombe & Thrupp of the Hellenic League - Premier Division and after conceding an early goal recovered to secure a solid victory.
The visitors kicked off playing towards the Clubhouse end of the ground and immediately took the game to their hosts as Archie Brennan played the ball to the left corner for Levi Irving to send a deep cross towards the far post where Nick Hancock (in his first game) was arriving but Dan Hill dealt with the danger.
Moments later a quickly taken free kick to Hancock was sent into the home box where Aidan Bennett fired over the bar from 12 yards.
After this initial burst it was the turn of the home side to mount an attack after Dave Woodfield intercepted a pass destined for Irving to charge towards the right corner and whilst his advance was repelled Brimscombe were soon back again as they were awarded a corner kick from the same corner. Ollie Pitt’s kick was cleared and then recovered for Hill to counter to the left corner to cross towards Jack Smith but once again the visitors defence dealt with the threat.
Brimscombe were pressing hard and a couple of minutes later Cirencester ‘keeper Alex Harris blocked Oli Barnes effort from 10 yards with the ball rebounding to Mike Pook who calmly headed it into the ‘keeper’s arms.
As the home side were working the ball down their right flank the ball was fed inside to JACK SMITH and he surprised everyone by unleashing a sensational strike from 30 yards that flew into the top right corner to open the scoring. 1-0.
Cirencester responded to the setback by launching an attack down their left flank as Jordan Morris reached the corner to cross towards the back post where Hill and a supporting Hancock challenged for the ball resulting in both requiring treatment after a clash of heads.
The game became end-to-end leading up to the first ‘Drinks Break’ with neither side posing a real threat on their opponent’s goal.
Almost immediately on resumption Cirencester worked the ball down their left flank – Morris to Ben McLean (trialist?), on to Bennett – for a corner kick to the far post where Shayne Anson’s header reached Bennett and his header back into the mix was caught by ‘keeper Nick Jones.
As the interval loomed Woodfield latched onto a missed headed clearance to drive forward to the right by-line but his resulting cross through the 6-yard box evaded everyone and a few minutes later he was on hand as Smith slipped the ball to him near the edge of the 6-yard box and this time he fired over the target.
The final action of the half saw Brimscombe work the ball down their right flank as Woodfield, Barnes and Smith combined to release Jonty Welch into the area but his strike was saved by Harris.
Half Time: 1-0
During the interval Cirencester made five substitutions and immediately they pressed forward winning a corner kick in the first minute and firing over two minutes later.
Brimscombe responded as they secured their first corner kick of the half following a Pitt free kick that Anson diverted away from goal and when Pitt delivered the corner to the edge of the 6-yard box Harris punched it clear.
The visitors then worked the ball down their right flank as Anson slipped the ball to Lee Llewelyn who exchanged passes with Josh Parsons before sliding a pass down the right channel for Roger James to chase but ‘keeper Jones was alert to the threat and dashed from his goal to collect.
Leading up to the hour mark Cirencester were pressing more regularly and when a ball into the home box was only partially cleared it fell to JONNY DENNIS, left front edge of the area, and he wasted no time in smashing it into the top right corner. 1-1.
Six minutes later Cirencester took the lead after working the ball forward to the edge of the home box where Dennis laid it into the path of ROGER JAMES as he burst down the centre to place his shot inside the left post. 1-2.
During the ‘Drinks Break’ that followed Cirencester introduced two more substitutes and within minutes Tom Handley (who had switched flanks) made a charge down the right to win a corner kick that reached Ellis Dunton at the far side of the home area and he clipped the ball back towards the right post where Parsons headed narrowly wide of the left post.
Once again the home side reacted to send a long ball down their right channel that required Mike Pook to stretch to clear near the edge of his penalty area for a corner kick and this eventually reached Ash Caldwell who fired wide of the left post from the edge of the Ciren Box.
Shortly afterwards Dunton delivered a cross from 30 yards, left flank, that Jones pushed onto his bar and as it dropped the ‘keeper reacted quickly to gather it before Parsons could tap it home from a yard.
Cirencester doubled their lead when Joe Turley sent a tantalising 35-yard pass from the right flank towards JOSH PARSONS - a couple of yards inside the left channel front edge of the home area – that drew Jones from his goal. The pass reached Parsons who was able to side-step the ‘keeper to finish into the empty net. 1-3.
As the game was drawing to a close Dunton supplied Parsons who slipped the ball to James but his shot was saved by Jones low to his right.
The last attack from Brimscombe saw Woodfield reach the right by-line to cross towards Barnes, 10 yards out – right of centre, and his resulting header was parried then caught by Harris.
A couple of minutes later Parsons supplied James and when his shot was blocked to Dennis the follow-up shot was also blocked and it fell to JOSH PARSONS who blasted it into the net from ten yards. 1-4.
Full Time: 1-4
After the early setback Cirencester worked their way into the game and after the break their additional resources enabled them to secure a solid victory against tiring opponents.
BRIMSCOMBE & THRUPP:
Nick Jones, Dave Woodfield, Dan Hill, Jake Parrott, Ash Caldwell, Eli Simpson, Ed Major, Jonty Welch, Jack Smith, Oli Barnes, Ollie Pitt, Jack Bartram, AN Other, Chris Greenough
CIRENCESTER TOWN:
Alex Harris, Nick Hancock, Jordan Morris, Mike Pook, Shayne Anson, Josh Nelmes, Lee Llewelyn, Archie Brennan, Levi Irving, Aidan Bennett, Ben McLean, Ellis Dunton, Tom Handley, Jonny Dennis, Roger James, Josh Parsons, Ben Hands, Joe Turley.