Shortwood United 0 Cirencester Development 0 – UHL Hellenic League

When Shortwood went to Hereford on Tuesday they had a game plan and stuck to it and came away with a very good point. The boot was very much on the other foot at Meadowbank on Saturday as a young Cirencester side stuck to their game plan and thwarted a Wood side that looked lethargic and ran out of ideas before the end, writes Jim Cunneen.

Indeed, Ciren may have nicked it in the last few minutes when Clark was forced into his one real meaningful save.

On a positive note Shortwood have only conceded one goal in their last five league games and apart from one slip at the end were immaculate again yesterday. Luke Soule and Adam Philp found themselves having to come deeper and deeper and the Ciren defence thwarted Wood at every turn.

Wood’s passing was sloppy and they gave the ball away far too easily and when they did create the Cirencester defence were quick to close them down. A perfect example was in the 17th minute when Deamon spread the ball wide, Soule chested down Mills ‘cross but the ball was whipped off his toes before he could shoot. With Wood restricted to long shots and Ciren struggling to make an impression coming forward the game was dour. Just before the break a Hodges cross was headed back across goal by Philp but keeper Irving reacted to grab the ball off Soule’s head.

Shortwood forced four corners on the trot without overly troubling Cirencester and the visitors suffered a blow on the hour when they lost keeper Irving after coming out to block Soule. It is a measure of Cirencester’s performance that apart from a couple of awkward crosses he was rarely troubled.

As the game drifted to an inevitable conclusion Cirencester suddenly found a real chance with 5 minutes on the clock. A through ball found Lloyd as a Wood defender slipped and he shot across Clark towards the far corner. Clark was equal to the challenge, however, and a strong hand parried the ball away.

Twice in the dying moments Wood almost found a way through but Cirencester’s delight at the final whistle for a hard earned point was completely justified

Shortwood: Adam Clark, Ben Langworthy, Jacob Waddington, Finn Byrnes, Rendijs Kalnins, Tom Hoskins, Kenneth Mills, Jack Deamon, Luke Soule, Adam Philp, Jordan Hodges (Dylan Miles 62)

Attendance: 63