Play-off hopes hit Cleeve and Cirencester suffer setbacks
BISHOP’S Cleeve and Cirencester Town saw their Southern League play-off chances hit on Saturday.
In Division One South, Cleeve conceded a 94th-minute winner to 10-man Bideford’s Finn Roberts at Keyte Lane, a loss which drops them to seventh in the table with three games to play.
Jamie Down was red carded in the 32nd minute after what was deemed a dangerous tackle on Will Emery.
Cleeve had started brightly forcing Adam Seedhouse Evans into early saves from Karnell Chambers and Toby Holland and Cleeve had the ball in the net but Chambers was flagged offside after converting Linden Dovey’s cross.
Archie Reay had a looping shot tipped over by Lewis Clayton right on half time and after the break Stu Bowker saw a volley saved by Lewis Clayton.
On the hour Jay Malshanskij’s glancing header from a corner came back off the post and Holland and Malshanskij were both off target for the hosts before Clayton produced a great save to deny Bideford’s James Mayne.
With time running out Bideford came forward as Roberts challenged for a forward ball into the box. Alex Moyse played in Roberts who fired a great strike in off the crossbar at the near post.
Cirencester are seven points adrift of the top five in Division One Central after having a goal disallowed in the final minutes of their 1-1 draw at Biggleswade.
They started positively as they took the game to their hosts and following a number of attacks down their flanks, Swindon loanee Joshua Keyes, on his first start, fired the ball into the top left corner as he came in from his wing to meet a Luca Robinson cross.
Harry Dawson equalised when he drilled his shot into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box and a few minutes into the second half Biggleswade came close to taking the lead when George Wheeler-bailey fired wide.
In the final minutes Aidan Bennett had the ball in the net - but following a discussion between the officials it was ruled out as a team-mate was adjudged to have been in an offside position.
Evesham United are three points off the Division One South play-offs with four games to play after Levi Steele hit a hat-trick in ther 5-3 win against Melksham Town.
United opened the scoring inside five minutes through Amer Awadh, but their lead was very short-lived as Elliot Haffenden replied.
Steele netted twice in three minutes midway through the half to make it 3-1 before Melksham’s Sam Hendy lobbed the keeper from well inside his half, and another cracking strike from Albert Hopkins saw Melksham equalise four minutes from half-time.
Nine minutes from time Evesham took the lead after a shambles at the back between the keeper and defender gave Alfie Dunn a goal, then Steele rounded off his hat–trick two minutes from time.