TREVOR Rawlings reckons his Corsham Town side gave a glimpse of their true potential last weekend as they inflicted a first defeat of the season on title favourites Bradford Town.

Corsham hit the heights at Trowbridge Road to shatter their local rivals’ unbeaten record in the Toolstation League First Division with a 5-3 success.

Victory saw Rawlings’ men notch up their fifth win in six matches and with his squad nearing full strength, the Corsham chief is eyeing a positive second half of the season.

“I think that it showed that on our day, we’re as good as anyone in the league,” said Rawlings.

“I’ve managed to get most people back and we had a strong squad of 16.

“If we could keep that 16 fit and playing, then we could go and have a good end to the season.

“We did worry about going there and getting turned over but we said to the boys at half-time that if we could defend well, we could come back to win the game – that’s exactly what happened.

“It’s a great result and we’ve got to try and keep our run going now.”

Corsham’s Nick Holton and Jason Henley netted either side of Dan King’s goal before the hosts’ Sam Jordan and Jake Hiscocks netted to give Bradford a 3-2 lead at half-time.

But Rawlings’ side roared back in the second period to clinch a landmark victory, with striker Booker Woodford hitting a brace and Ryan Tyrell also finding the net as Corsham upset the odds.

Chippenham Park chief Dave Ferris says his side just cannot seem to kick-off a run of good form in the Toolstation League First Division.

Park went into last weekend’s trip to Almondsbury UWE having scored six goals in their previous two outings – victory over Cribbs and a draw with Warminster Town – but they suffered an afternoon to forget as they slipped to their 14th defeat of the season, going down 3-0.

“Every time we get a couple of wins or a win and a draw like we had done this time, we get a bit of a nosebleed and go and lose the next game,” said Ferris.

“Like I’ve said before, when we make mistakes in this league, we get punished – they’re individual mistakes though rather then team ones, and they’re difficult to account for.

“On Saturday, we had players missing and unfortunately, all of the goals came down the left side. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”

Park host Cheddar this weekend.

Joint-boss Justin Webster wants to see his Devizes Town side use their recent run of good form to launch an assault on the top six of the Toolstation League First Division.

Seventh-placed Devizes notched up their third successive victory last weekend as they ran out comfortable 4-0 winners at bottom-of-the-table Portishead Town.

Antony Hogg gave Webster and Darran Walters’ men a first-half lead before midfielder Tom Price and strike duo Mark Barnes and Neil Clark got in on the act in the second period.

“We’re playing really well at the moment – we’ve got players back from injury and suspension and the side is looking really strong,” said Webster.

“Corsham beat Bradford on the weekend, which backs up what a good result we had against them, and you can’t argue with 4-0 away from home last weekend.

“We’ve got to be looking to get in that top six and it’s all about building on this.”

Devizes host Chard Town this weekend.

Calne Town boss Simon Gardner would have been delighted with a point at promotion-chasing Cribbs but was left with that sinking feeling after his side conceded a last-gasp equaliser last weekend.

Goals from Mark Dolman and debutant Simon Windsor saw Calne lead 2-1 in Bristol before Lee Brice’s header took a wicked deflection off Alex Lewis before finding the net in the fourth minute of added time.

“I would have been really happy with a point there but afterwards, it was one of those that felt like a defeat and points dropped, rather than a point gained,” said Gardner.

“Jamie Bartlett made some good saves, we defended well and took our opportunities when they came. It is a decent point and we’ve got to look to build on it.”

Melksham Town manager Darren Perrin is prepping his troops for a vital cup clash this weekend.

Melksham, who suffered late heartbreak as they succumbed to a last-gasp goal in a 3-2 defeat at Bitton last weekend, host Hellenic League Highworth Town in the quarter-finals of the Wiltshire Senior Cup on Saturday, looking to go one step closer to retaining the county cup.

“It’s the big game for us and the biggest positive from last weekend’s game is that we got 90 minutes into the legs of a few players,” said the Melksham boss.

“Highworth are the highest-ranked team left in the competition but hopefully, come about 5.15, we’re in the semi-finals.”

Ian Jeffery and Dan Kovacs were on target at Bitton.

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