ALBEIT having played two games more than rivals Cheddar, Calne Town topped the Toolstation League Division One table on Saturday night following a timely 1-0 win away at Bishops Lydeard.

Stuart Windsor netted the only goal with 11 minutes of play remaining to promote the Bremhill View side to the top of the standings.

Results have certainly surpassed pre-season expectations as joint-manager Ben Redford admits a top-half finish was firmly part of his plans prior to his side’s first competitive fixture of the season.

And he has vowed to not change his target in the wake of his side’s encouraging start to the season, which has seen them secure 16 points from eight fixtures.

Redford, who manages Calne alongside Trevor Rawlings, said: “It was a close game against Bishops Lydeard. We had to grind it out.

“We didn’t expect to find ourselves in this position at the start of the season at all.

“Our ambitions weren’t lowered before the season, but we certainly didn’t say we wanted to win the league or earn promotion.

“There are a lot of teams that have made it clear they want to win the league, but we’ve gone about our business quietly.

“Realistically, finishing in the top half is still our aim.

“We have tough games coming up and the league is so tight – if we lose two games, we could drop to 11th.

“We’re enjoying life at the top, but we’re not sure how long it will last.”

Town’s next two fixtures are likely to grant Redford a greater understanding over his squad’s ability to keep up with the top teams.

They host fourth-placed Oldland Abbotonians on Saturday before second-placed Wells City visit the following weekend.

With the winter looming, Redford wants greater cover in his squad before the turn of the year.

But, unable to pay players, the Town boss accepts attracting appropriate talent is a nut he is yet to crack.

“Cheddar are strong as are Ashton & Backwell. Other than that, not a lot separates the teams,” said Redford.

“We haven’t got the cover I’d like. We’ve been scraping a side together for the last couple of weeks.

“We’ve been doing well with what we have got, but our squad is smaller than last year. We’re coping, but it will be interesting to see how we deal with things in January.

“We don’t pay our players.Most of the clubs around our area pay, so it’s not like we can attract players from Corsham or Warminster.

“But I would like to add to the squad.”

Elsewhere, Corsham Town crashed to a heavy 7-0 defeat at home to Wells.

There was better news for Warminster Town, though, as they were 3-0 winners at Sherborne Town.

George Butler, James Vincent and Charlie Walton fired the Maltmen to the points.

Finally, Devizes Town drew 3-3 at Bristol Telephones.

Luke Enderby, Robert Mitchell and Joshua McGrory were all on target for the visitors.