Ford sees his Puritans go top after eighth straight victory

The Puritans knocked previous leaders Winchester City off the top with a 2-1 success at Spencer Stadium, their eighth Division One South & West victory on the spin. First half goals from Felipe Barcelos and Ricky Johnson put the Puritans in control and they should have been out of sight before top scorer Warren Bentley reduced the arrears.

Ford said: “We made it far more difficult than it should have been, we were always in control in the first half and deservedly went 2-0 up. We should have been out of sight in the first 20 minutes of the second half but they got a lifeline and we got a bit dispirited.

“But we got across the line in the end and we fully deserved it, we were much better than them. Winchester have got some good players but we’ve got better ones.

“I have to give my central defenders credit again, they didn’t switch off except for the late goal. I don’t like sitting on a lead but I had no choice in the end.

“I shouldn’t be disappointed because we’ve just beaten the leaders but we should have won 4-0. We’ve come a long way since Winchester beat us 4-0 in October, we were streets ahead of them today.”