CHIPPENHAM Town chief Mark Collier thought that his side gave a demonstration of their squad depth as they got the better of near neighbours Frome Town to progress to the second qualifying round of the FA Trophy on Saturday.

A brace from Darren Edwards and a debut goal for young striker Mark Francis against the club he left last week saw the Bluebirds run out 3-1 winners, with Frome’s poor disciplinary record continuing as both Jon Vance and Josh Klein-Davies were sent off in quick succession in the second period.

Despite Matt Coupe making a surprise return to the bench, Michael Pook and Jordan Roberts were missing with calf and knee injuries respectively and Collier was delighted with his team’s application against their West Country rivals.

“I said to them before the game that when you think that (Lee) Phillips, (Alan) Griffin, Bryan Smith, Michael Pook, and Jordan Roberts aren’t playing, it just shows what a strong squad we’ve got,” said the Chippenham manager.

“So credit to those players because we wanted to start well and we did. I thought the front two looked nice and bright and lively – you’re always as good as your front two – and we looked strong and compact.

“I’m happy with that and it’s good to get through the next round with a win at home and get some money into the bank.

“(Frome) hadn’t had too many good results and we were on the back of not a great run so I expected it to be a competitive game.

“By their manager’s own admission, they’ had a few problems with their bookings etc, so we expected it to be feisty but the football we’ve played has been decent.

“What’s happened has happened, which was unfortunate for the game and for the crowd, but at the end of the day, our job was to go and get the victory. It’s difficult with nine but fair play, they did keep going to try and play the right way.”

Collier also reserved special praise for former Swindon Town man Francis, who finished with aplomb early in the second period to restore Chippenham’s two-goal lead after Ollie Taylor had struck for the visitors, as well as winger Ryan Campbell.

“I thought he was excellent. He looked a threat all the time, he made some good runs and I thought his movement was good,” said the Bluebirds boss.

“I thought he tired a bit at the end, which is the reason we’ve taken him off at the end, but he’s proved his worth there with a fantastic finish with the outside of his right foot.

“Not many players at this level are going to just bend that in the far post from where he was. It capped off a decent performance for him and a decent debut, and I thought that young Campbell did well when he came on as well.”

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