TUESDAY 1ST JANUARY 2008 3PM KO

Cirencester Town 1 Hemel Hempstead 0

That was a very brave result. Ciren may be The Tudors bogy team but, twenty minutes into this game, it looked nothing like that. Hemel had played slick, quick football with midfielder Dean Cracknell bossing the game and sending his forwards roaring through the home defence.

Ciren were just about managing to connect with their clearances to keep them at bay. But they were giving their forwards little with which to play, bravely as Scott Griffin and Steve Robertson worked to try and make something of the balls ballooned up to them.

Hemel forward Harry Hunt was denied a stone cold penalty on 5 minutes when Ciren skipper Chris Collins first batted down his shot then bundled him over as the ball bounced away. That was a bit of luck but the Ciren back line was having to work hard just to get something on the ball as it zipped up to, and rather too often,, through them.

On 16 minutes a dreadful misunderstanding between Collins and Lee Molyneux let Hunt escape again, clear through the left channel. With 21 goal Drew Roberts unmarked and screaming for the pass, Hunt chose glory and hit outside the near post. Team play wins matches and Hunt's mistake was another let off for us.

On 34 minutes a superb Cracknell, Burgess, Sweeney interchange left Alex Stanley out of position and dreadfully exposed. The speedy wing back was clear up the right to cross unopposed with 3 Hemel players open to score. The cross came to Hunt and first time he shot wayward and far too hasty, sending the ball over the bar.

Ciren keeper Matt Bulman made a superb one on one stop on Roberts on 36 minutes as Ciren battled to stay in the game. But, to their credit, they had dug in, worked out what had to be done and they did it.

Nathan Haisley stayed crafty and goal side, closing Cracknell down and giving the mazy forward no time in which to work his wiles. And skipper Chris Collins started to venture forward, providing an outlet up the right flank. He even fired in a shot, maybe a bit optimistic with Shax open for the pass to the bye-line, but hey, it was making the Hemel defence work back.

It meant that the Ciren defence were now able to work the ball free, with Paul Cochlin setting an example by making sure his clearances were passes and not just a welly up to the front pair. It opened up the match for Ciren.

Matt Shaxton had time to put his foot on the ball, started to look to put players clear and drew Olly Burgess back into his own third in order to try and contain him. Ciren started to make chances. They were back in the game.

A neat quick passing move up the right on 21 minutes gave Shax possession off a piece of instant control and move from Michael Jackson. The pass up to Scott Griffin on the edge of the box was on the deck and Griff laid back for Jacko, in support, to strike an instant left footer that whistled just past the angle with Brown beaten

Nathan Bowden-Haase was lucky to escape a penalty shout when he wrestled Scott Griffin to the ground on 39 minutes, after Ciren had finally put a five pass move together to get the forward in on goal and struggling to complete his turn and shot.

Andy Chapman, very quiet so far and not making a great job of forcing the speedy Sweeeney to defend, at last made himself available at a dangerous angle as Ciren advanced up the right. Matt Shaxton, breaking away from the Hemel midfield and looking up, saw the opening and sent a superb pass on 41 minutes through the gap. Chappy had read it superbly, was inside Sweeney and was away, clear.

He should have done better than fire wide, maybe a bit too early, past the near post from the angle of the area with Brown exposed on his far post. A clinical strike was what was needed. But, it did produce an angry reaction within the Hemel defence and from that moment on they were much more cautious.

Second half, Matt Shaxton and Nathan Haisley not only made sure Cracknell and Paul Edgeworth were closed down and unable to play their intricate passing triangles, but were also unceasing in their support of Robertson and Griffin up front. Clearly, the Ciren fitness levels are not in doubt. What had been lacking was confidence.. Today, they reminded us what a good team they can be.

Griffin, magnificent throughout with his effort and ability to make the ball stick, was giving Bowden-Haase a towsing time with his willingness to take the battering but determined to make sure the ball was moved on. It kept the Ciren attacking momentum going, and Steve Robertson responded with some clever movement off the ball to keep the Hemel defence wondering where the next thrust was going to be made. It was good attacking football.

On 55 minutes Robbo chased down a loose ball, bobbling up when a Chapman centre was half blocked, and made a huge effort to get himself above Cavill to head Scott Griffin clear beyond the defence on the right. Griff got to the ball as Ian Brown arrived only to send the re-direction an agonising inch wide of the opposite post with the defence beaten.

When Nathan Haisley got on the end of a forceful Matt Shaxton run on 61 minutes, having first started the move with a stunning midfield tackle to send Shax away, it was his surging support run that invited the return pass. Which duly arrived.

This was the box to box Nathan, playing without fear, that we know and love. Shax had a great pass option and took it. But Nathan had made it for him. Good football that.

Again Brown was out quickly but Nathan had reached the ball on the right of the six yard box and shot. The orb looped across goal off the keeper's hip. Shax followed up and we had five in the box with Hemel out-numbered and all facing their goal.

Facing the net Scott Griffin was faster in thought and action than Sweeney and swooped past him and onto the ball to score from 5 yards.

What a reception Griffo got from the crowd. And Chris Collins seems a tad chuffed, too. Look where Shax ended up. He was having a cracking game.

With Hemel fading badly, by now totally outplayed in midfield with Michael Jackson making sure Ciren retained possession with his neat, instant control and then passing on to his midfield teammates coming through on the run, the Centurions had chances to clinch the result.

Chappy was now getting passes to feet in the Hemel third and not being forced to chase optimistic hoicks forward. One thing Chappy can do is deliver a killer pass. With the team playing like a team, the urgency and positioning of the front men was making space in the Hemel area.

On 75 minutes, Chapman reacted quickest to a slight defensive miscue, got half a yard on Sweeney and sent in a beauty from the bye-line. Griffin was not quite able to convert as the ball skimmed off the head of Aaron Cavill, stubbing the turf as he launched into a volley and giving Brown a pick up from the bumble ball.

Shax again got away, surging through the middle when Collins calmly dispossessed the by now thoroughly disgruntled and ineffective Edgeworth and put his pass up to Shax on the deck. How easy it is to play football when the passes are easier to control for the support players.

Shax forced the Hemel defence to back off as he tore towards the edge of the box. With Griff clear to his left, Shax bust a gut to try and nick him clear. At the crucial moment a bobble beat him and the chance was gone as Cavill and Bowden-Haase came together and snuffed him out.

The point to note is that Griff had made his support run into the space and the Hemel defence was shredded. Facing the goal, I'd have bet on a net bulger if the pass could have gone through.

Replacing Griffin, off to a deserved ovation from the Corinium crowd after giving his best performance in a Ciren shirt for many a long month, Nick Stanley on 85 minutes just could not quite connect with yet another Chapman cross, our passing magician having a much more effective second half and again getting to the bye-line.

The cross was perfect. Maybe Snaky was hearing the shouts to stay onside and was distracted. Although he missed when he was clear in the box 12 yards out, don't forget that his in and out run had destroyed Coulson's attempt to cover. If Chappy can cross like that, Snaky will make sure he does the rest and finds the space.

This was a gritty and brave performance by the Cirencester team in a match they could well have conceded within the first quarter. That they did not is down partly to luck and Hunt's wayward shooting.

But let's not forget that although looking stretched the Ciren defence actually closed down the edge of their area, with Paul Cochlin again immense in the heart of the backline. And don't forget that it was still 1 – 0 when on 70 minutes Matt Gearing got away up the right and crossed.

Moly made a stonkin covering tackle to destroy Sozzo's attempt to convert and left Roberts offside right in front of goal. And, his calmness gone, making an airshot when he should at least have netted.

Now we go into a season defining six pointer away to Corby next Saturday. The Steelmen are erratic and fragile – their manager is getting huge stick, their highly paid Kettering imports are stuttering, and their fans are not happy.

It will be another battle but we know we can keep the ball, we know we can pass it and we know that we can score. We just have to be clinical, calm and concentrate on doing right what we know we can do well.

I hope Mr Viveash is cruel and has the lads in for a session on Thursday. He only needs them to do some drills and remind themselves that they get a good nights rest on Friday, have a rub down from Smithy, and enjoy the trip to chilly Northamptonshire.

Centurions: Matt Bulman, Chris Collins (c), Alex Stanley, Nathan Haisley, Lee Molyneux, Paul Cochlin, Matt Shaxton, Michael Jackson, Steve Robertson, Scott Griffin [Nick Stanley 82], Andy Chapman
subs: Harry Etheridge, Hanon Romdhane, Jon Else, Paul Hunt

Tudors: Ian Brown, Simon Sweeney, Mark Coulson, Aaron Cavill [Chris Herron 79], Nathan Bowden-Haase, Matt Gearing, Olly Burgess [Adam Martin 67], Dean Cracknell,, Harry Hunt [Josh Sozzo 67], Drew Roberts, Paul Edgeworth (c)
subs: Yiadom Yeboah, Danny Nicholls Jnr

ref: Mr A L Matthews [Kings Stanley] yet another Matthews ref, this time from another corner of the Midlands. Made no cautions in a 'competitive' match, denied 2 penalties, but actually gave us a game played at a high tempo with challenges coming from everywhere but, apart from one frustrated flurry late on from Hemel, no real flashpoints. Sent off Mr Nichols from the Hemel bench after a particularly outrageous spray of comments with 20 minutes to go

Att: 143 Bit disappointing, with Hemel bringing a fair few couple of dozen. But hardly surprising giving our woefull Clevedon display. Many more like this and we'll be back above 200. Well worth aiming for that, for the Bedford home game at the end of January, by getting the points on the board in the next 3 tough away games.

MoM: Paul Cochlin was again immense, Jacko brought some calm control to midfield, Nathan and Matt earned their paltry corn today, outplaying their more illustrious opponents. But today, determined, brave and showing that he has not lost his touch, today inevitably it was Scott Griffin