It was pantomime time in Gloucestershire on Saturday with the league’s Cinderella club Cirencester, run as a community club on a shoestring budget, outshining the opulent ugly sisters of cash rich Maidenhead United, with the home team goalkeeper Kevin Sawyer playing Prince Charming by making sure he got to the ball first every time in a man of the match performance, to keep a clean sheet and ensure his team’s goal paid dividends.

Maidenhead took to the field in their fourth kit of the season, an all white Real Madrid style outfit although once again despite looking the part Johnson Hippolyte’s team failed to deliver the goods in the sixth successive league match without a win.

In a game which the Magpies dominated it was the lack of composure up front which meant numerous gilt edged chances were spurned by the profligate men in white.  Although keeper Sawyer did his best to make himself the final obstacle between ball and net, in truth the United strikers could and should have given him no chance to stop most of their efforts.  Instead Sawyer appeared to have a magnetic effect on the ball foiling attempts from David Clarke, Steve McNamara, Errol Telemaque and Lee Newman in the first half.

After the break, and no doubt relieved to still be in the game, Cirencester purposefully pushed forward and Rene Regis rattled Delroy Preddie’s crossbar in the 51^st minute.  Four minutes later the home team went one better.  Clarke was caught in possession and Cirencester swiftly turned defence into attack with Phil Hall and Marc Richards linking well to tee up centre back Matt Jones who did not need asking twice to thump the ball into the back of the net.

Maidenhead tried hard to play themselves back into the game but Sawyer was once again equal to all that was thrown at him, producing one particularly good save from Ashley Smith with five minutes left.  In injury time United actually beat Sawyer twice but Newman’s shot and Romeo’s header were both cleared off the line in a great rearguard action by Town who fought like demons to preserve their lead and send Hippolyte’s men back down the M4 with the problem of how to break a run of just one win in the last twelve outings.

United: Preddie, Nisbet, Parsons, Lee, Sterling, Smith, McNamara, Brown, Telemaque, Newman L, Clarke.  Subs: Hughes, Romeo.

Booking: Clarke 32.