Cirencester Town vs Gresley Rovers
It was Cirencester that made the early running and on 10 minutes Ben Fitch made a run down the right and into the Gresley area where it took a fine tackle from Jamie Hood to avert the danger.
Four minutes later they went close again. This time it was Gareth Hopkins who threatened but he blasted his shot well over when well placed.
On 16 came arguably the turning point of the game and Gresley found themselves down to ten men. A vicious tackle on Gareth Holmes by Cirencester's Hopkins saw the Moatman see red as he stupidly retaliated.
The task was difficult enough playing a side whose confidence was sky high having not lost in their last 14 league games, but now it was almost impossible with only ten men.
Debutant striker Laurence Hall was now all alone up front as Steve Lenagh was dropped back into midfield.
Gresley stubbornly refused to buckle but on 30 minutes Cirencester were unlucky not to have taken the lead. A superb pass from a home defender gave Jody Bevan a glorious chance but Belford helped his shot onto the bar and the unfortunate Andy McCabe could only put the rebound over.
Four minutes later, however, Cirencester were in front. A cross from Michael Davis found Hopkins who beat Dale Belford with his shot.
Gresley came out for the second half looking more determined and within minutes of the restart Gary White found Hall who turned but put his low shot wide of the right-hand post.
On 50 minutes Jamie Barrett received the ball from Lenagh but he curled his shot narrowly wide of the post.
It should have been two nil for the home side on 82 minutes when a cross from Fitch found Hopkins no more than two yards out. But the striker completely missed his kick giving Belford the chance to grab the ball.
However, Cirencester didn't have too long to wait before they scored their second.
On 86 minutes Marc Richards met a corner at the far post who headed back across goal and the ball appeared to go into the net with the aid of a deflection.
Gary's views on the game
"The obvious talking point and for me turning point of the game was the sending off.
"An already tough job against the form side in the league was made even harder after Gareth's sending off. I wasn't particularly happy with the display from the officials today but to be fair to the ref, we couldn't argue with his decision to send Gareth off.
"On the subject of decisions like that though, what annoys me is inconsistency. Last week, one of our players was floored by a Hednesford player who only received a yellow card when everyone in the ground was expecting a red.
"With regard to Gareth, he shouldn't have reacted and he knows that. Yes it was a tough tackle on him but he's thrown a punch and because of that deserved to be sent off. He's been very apologetic to myself, his team mates and the supporters but these things happen in the heat of the moment and I've told him to learn from it and move forward.
"Being down to 10 men so early obviously affected our game plan but I felt we reorganised well and our defence and midfield looked reasonably solid with Lawrence Hall working hard on his own upfront. Disappointingly, the 1st goal came after we were in a good position but we gave away the ball cheaply and just a few seconds later it was in our net.
"In the second half, we found it difficult and never really managed to get going. I was annoyed that we didn't show more fight, passion and belief in our ability to get something from the game. Our chances were somewhat limited and we just seemed to go through the motions at times with a few exceptions.
"Today's been one of those days that I want to forget. We came here confident we could get something from the trip but we go home with nothing. We need to raise our spirits and kick on from here with good performances against Gloucester and Solihull in our next games."
Cirencester Town: Thompson, Bird, McEntecart, Richards, Mayo (Jackson 87), Watton, Davis, McCabe, Hopkins
, Bevan (Wimble 90), Fitch. Sub not used: Fraser.
Gresley Rovers: Belford, Everitt (Doughty 78), Cheetham, Smith, Hood, Holmes
, Barrett, Slater, Hall, Lenagh, White. Subs not used: Wardle, Norton.
Rovers Star Man: Jamie Hood – solid at the back.
Referee: S P Smart (Bristol).
Attendance: 182
