Too little too late for Centurions

STAMFORD looked on their pomp early on, easily keeping possession against relegated Cirencester.

Feeding in-form Martin Wormall with beautifully timed passes, they sliced through, with control, from the midfield.

Wormall is a sprightly forward and was quick to feed Dan French on the left and Stewart Wilson on the right as the reds put pressure on Ciren's defence.

Ollie Holder battled to keep Jason Turner from winning the ball but found it difficult to time his headers in the wind and was getting too close and being spun too easily. However, with Matt Jones solid beside him, the Dannies were just about being held at bay.

The first two or three times Wilson was fed on the right, he found it easy to skip past Dan Hilder. While Hilder would never claim to be a hard-tackling full-back, he is quick and eager and was getting back to put at least a foot in and spoil the final ball.

French was doing the same to Dan Wallington on the other flank. On 15 minutes, Harry Etheridge's full-blown tackle on Mark O'Dea was deemed a foul.

Lining the ball up 20 yards out, Wormall was obviously going to have a pop. Ciren set up their wall with great care and their goalkeeper, Kevin Sawyer, planted himself but the screaming shot seemed destined to go inside the far post.

Getting across, as planned, Sawyer calmly tipped the ball round the post. Steve Leigh was his usual calmness personified, sweeping up behind the back line.

On 19 minutes, Leigh caressed a back pass into the area where the ball settled nicely on the turf. Sawyer gave it an almighty welly.

Wind-assisted, it went down the park and bounced in Stamford's D, forcing Chris Sanna into a panic-stricken flap to tip the ball an inch around the post.

Ciren's attacks had been no more than Phil Hall and Ian McSherry scuttering after clearances, with Stamford's defence calmly collecting the ball and relaying it back through their midfield.

McSherry, through sheer persistence, twice worried them into losing possession. The tide was turning.

Hilder and Wallington are both able to collect a pass and make something of it. With Leigh drilling passes wide and accurately to them, there were chances to give Lee Smith a run.

Ciren were not only showing grit but were looking to nick something. It happened on 27 minutes. Smith had repeatedly chased long balls in vain.

This time, wide on the left, Hilder collected a neat pass from Etheridge. Looking up, Etheridge fed Smith coming up the left channel to support.

A quick spin outside took Smith back inside the defender and from 25 yards out he curled a shot around Sanna and into the top corner of the net.

Although Holder had the measure of Turner by now, the striker was still a tricky handful and was getting his body in and laying back for the return pass slid though the gap. Twice, Sawyer got down to block shots from Wormall and Wilson.

On 38 minutes, Wilson cut through the gap between Leigh and Jones to be clear for a pass zipped across from French. At just the wrong moment, it bobbled on the hard ground and carried on beyond the far stick.

Early in the second half, Ciren conceded the kind of daft, avoidable goal they have been letting in all year.

Matthews swung a right-wing free kick to the far side of Ciren's six-yard box where Stamford had two players to Ciren's one.

Holder was nudged out of the way and Jason Turner rose unchallenged to nod accurately back over Sawyer's hands and into the far top corner.

With Etheridge doing a sterling job and Wallington comfortable in possession, Ciren started bossing the game.

After 65 minutes, Wallington freed Smith down the right and he burned past Bowater. Half stopped by Matthews, Smith reacted first to slot a cross into Hall who saw Sanna palm his point-blank header away.

With 15 minutes to go, Smith got round Piercewright when Etheridge won the ball solidly on the left. Etheridge transferred to Wallington in the middle and he slid Smith away in space.

Half stopped in the covering tackle, Smith recovered first and fed Hall. A quick change of feet, a surge forward, a look up and a low cross saw Nathan Haisley come into space 12 yards out and crash a first timer into the back of the net.

On 83 minutes , Haisley roared clear onto Wallington's lovely knock down and forced Sanna into a superb block.

Stamford countered frantically but Sawyer's legs kept the ball out when Cooper flashed in another superb shot.

At the death, with Stamford committed up front,Wallington again sliced the left flank of Stamford's defence open with an intelligent pass.

Smith was away, around Piercewright and into the box. With James Rowe clear inside him and the cover racing desperately across, all it needed was a lay-off but Smith went for glory and the cover blocked the shot.

The core of a good Ciren squad is there. With application, imaginative coaching and disciplined organisation, the Centurions will be back in the Premier Division.

Stamford: Chris Sanna, Scott Taylor, Brad Piercewright, Graham Bowater, Martin Matthews (c), Lee Marshall Bobby White 35, Stewart Wilson, Mark O'Dea Brett Darby 45, Jason Turner, Martin Wormall, Dan French Ian Cooper 45 Other subs: Steve Julian, Ryan Willetts

Cirencester Town: Kevin Sawyer, Dan Wallington, Dan Hilder Michael Jackson 64, Leigh Smith, Matt Jones, Ollie Holder, Harry Etheridge, Lee Smith, Ian McSherry Steve Cowe 81, Nathan Haisley (c), Phil Hall James Rowe 81 Other subs: Liam Horsted, Alex Hards

Man of the Match: Nathan Haisley

Referee: C Law Leicester Attendance: 243