Corsham closing in on title (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Corsham closing in on title

2:38pm Thursday 3rd May 2007 in Football By Nick Mashiter

CORSHAM Town can clinch the Toolstation Premier League title on Saturday after five battling performances in the last ten days.

Colin Bush's side can triumph if they win at Dawlish and rivals Bridgwater fail to beat Radstock at home on Saturday.

Bush said: "It is down to us, that is how we are looking at it. If we keep winning they can't do anything.

"In the last ten fixtures every team has put out their best side against us and every game has been tense - I don't like pressure."

Corsham had played five games in ten days, including the Wiltshire Senior Cup final win over Melksham Town, after a late Scott Lye blockbuster, culminating in Tuesday's victory at Chard.

And Bush praised the strength of his side. He said: "The situation has been handled magnificently by the players.

"They have done tremendously well to go to Barnstaple, Bideford and Chard and our bogey team Welton. Anyone who has been to Chard knows it is a very difficult place to go and you almost need your mountaineering gear as the pitch is that steep."

The league leaders took an early lead after Dave Hopkins found playmaker Lye, who fed Jerad O'Pray to clip the ball over the keeper.

Strikers Toby Colbourne and Simon Gray could have extended the lead, and Bush threw a backhanded compliment to Gray.

He said: "Simon was a constant threat.

"He lacks many attributes to play football but he is tremendously unorthodox with the way he exposes defences."

The win helped Corsham build on two crucial points earned at the weekend. First, the team from the Southbank travelled to Barnstaple on Saturday.

The game was delayed by 30 minutes as the teams waited for the referee to arrive, and the visitors were obviously affected as they started slowly, finding themselves 1-0 down early on.

However, substitute Ben Fitch inspired a recovery and headed the equaliser to set his side up with a trip to Bideford 24 hours later on Sunday.

It looked as if Corsham's title dreams were going to take a hit after they found themselves 2-0 down after half an hour.

However, Danny Western pulled a goal back minutes after coming on for the injured Fitch to halve the deficit just before half time.

Western continued to cause problems after the break before pacey striker Gray, who had only been on the field two minutes, equalised to make it 2-2, with ten minutes to play.

Even then Corsham could have won it when Colbourne saw his header saved after Lye's pinpoint pass.