Kingswood 2 Mitcheldean 0

DESPITE the fact that plenty of effort was put into this game by both teams, the quality rarely rose above the mediocre.

The soft uneven surface did not make good football easy, but with passes going astray and players constantly caught in possession with the ball instead of playing it off earlier, it did not make pretty entertainment either.

Kingswood made a reasonable start and after 12 minutes a well-taken free kick by Adam Eldridge was expertly tipped over the bar by the Mitcheldean keeper.

For their part the visitors worked hard to end a poor run of results which has surprisingly seen them drop into the relegation zone and they gave the home defence plenty to think about.

Keeper Andy Rodman, who himself has been through a difficult time this season in losing the superb form of last year, looked much more at ease, and gradually the home team started to take control.

Winning a corner on the left, Eldridge swung the ball into the heart of the visitors' defence, and Nick Bishop did the rest to give his side the lead seven minutes before the break.

The second half saw little change in the pattern of play, until a great run and shot by Paul Bleaken saw the crossbar come to the aid of the visitors on the hour.

End to end play gradually gave way to concerted Mitcheldean pressure as they pushed men forward in an attempt to take something from the game. They won a number of corners which were generally well defended by Kingswood, who in turn looked dangerous on the break.

In the final minute a corner in from the left was cleared to Simon Clarke who raced towards the visitors' goal, drew the keeper off his line and played the ball for Barrie Dibden to crash it into the empty net and clinch the points.

Having lost their previous two games it was good for Kingswood to get back to winning ways ahead of the local derby at title-chasing Tetbury Town this weekend.