Salisbury claimed all three points with an emphatic 4-1 win over Cirencester Town.

The Whites were in scoring mood, with Joyce, Wright, Clarke and Kelly all getting on the scoresheet.

Despite the result, it was a sluggish start from the team in White as they were made to defend several tricky long throws from the Centurions. The ball spent a lot of time in the air and Salisbury were prevented from  putting their mark on the game.

Twenty minutes in, Salisbury began to produce some good passing play. Restored to the starting eleven, Darrell Clarke’s ability to spread the ball wide helped the Whites to stretch their opponents. Kelly and Gray were working hard on the wings, with the latter, never shy of taking a shot, seeing several powerful attempts go wide.

It was Kelly who fashioned the best chance for Salisbury in the first half. Intercepting the ball, he drove forward and put Gray through one on one. The striker almost given too much time, saw his effort saved well.

With chances few and far between it was Cirencester who took the lead. When Salisbury failed to clear, no.9 Jody Bevan, saw the ball bouncing up nicely for him to strike a powerful finish to Smith’s right.

Salisbury didn’t let their heads drop and it was the manager himself who ignited their comeback. A well-crafted through ball split the red and black defence and Ben Joyce ran on to finish neatly to the keeper’s bottom left. The equaliser awoke the home side and good attacking play down the right hand side from Kelly and Adelsbury was causing problems.

When Cirencester failed to clear from a White corner, defender Jamie Turley did well to turn and put in an accurate chipped cross which was met by the boot of Matt Wright to give Salisbury a 2-1 lead close to half time.

The second half started at a slow tempo, neither side forcing the issue, but the Whites gradually put their stamp on the game, playing attractive passing football along the floor. That style paid off when, after a long passing move the ball was chipped forward for Wright to head back to Clarke. The player/manager turned his man well, switching the ball to his left before hitting a delightful chipped shot that drifted over the keeper and into the net. Clarke’s fourth of the season and 3-1 to Salisbury!

There was only one team in it from that point. Superior fitness and passing ability giving the men in red a torrid time. Jason Silver made an appearance from the bench, and both he and Adam Kelly enjoyed fast attacking runs from the wide areas. Charlie Knight made a forty-yard run down the left hand side and surged into the opposition box, but his pull-back only found a red shirt.

The game was buried with another fantastic strike as lively winger Adam Kelly hassled his man and won the ball back outside of the red penalty area on the right-hand side. With the keeper committed, Kelly produced a cool finish, lobbing the keeper from over twenty yards.

The lead could have been extended, with the men in white running rampant in the final stages. Reds goalkeeper Matt Bulman forced into making several late saves, but 4-1 the final score. A happy manager enjoyed the performance, “We started sloppy and that’s something we need to address but full credit to the boys, a good three points behind us and a good win. The boys looked sharp towards the end and it’s something to build upon.”

The White’s fitness seemed to give them a great advantage in the latter stages and, while happy, Assistant Manager Mikey Harris believes there’s more to come from the squad. “We can improve upon the performance, there’re things we’d like to do better and we’ve got a week now to get out on the training ground and make those improvements.”

A great result for the Whites who continue their unbeaten run. Happy at the result, Boss Darrell Clarke left the Ray Mac in good spirit, but knows there are no certainties in football. “We’ve scored four goals and it was a great game, but Saints scored four and then sacked their manager last week! Hopefully that won’t be the case for me!”

The Whites take to the road this Saturday to face Highworth Town in their FA Cup qualifier.