A FIVE-STAR second-half performance saw Highworth Town make it 13 straight wins at the start of the Hellenic Premier Division as they swept to a crushing 5-1 win at local rivals Fairford Town on Saturday.

Worthians boss Jeff Roberts felt his side were the better side right from the off at Cinder Lane but they could not find a way past the reigning Division One West champions as half-time arrived with the score goalless.

The leaders upped the tempo after the restart and Aysa Corrick needed just six minutes to finally break the deadlock.

Callum Parsons then took centre stage for the visitors as he grabbed a hat-trick, the last of which came from the penalty spot, as the Worthians moved 4-0 up.

Dan Reynolds was able to pull a goal back for Jody Bevan’s Fairford but Josh Jones had the final word for Highworth with five minutes to play.

Worthians boss Roberts said: “We should really have finished them off in the first half but I just felt that we wanted to take a bit too much time in the box and were trying to walk the ball into the net.

“We could have given them a rollicking at half-time but I still thought we’d played really well up to that point so it was just a case of telling them to be patient and waiting for that first goal to come.

“I think it only took about five minutes of the second half for us to get the goal and after that, we took control.

“Fairford’s heads began to drop, which we thought might happen, and we were really able to open them up and in the end, it was a comfortable win.”

Other results also went Highworth’s way as second-placed Flackwell Heath were beaten on home soil to push Roberts’ side seven points clear at the summit with two games in hand, although he is not getting carried away.

“It is a nice position to be in but we are still only 13 games into a 38-match season so there is a long way to go,” said Roberts.

“The likes of Flackwell, Bracknell and Thatcham are all very good sides, and Wantage are playing some good stuff at the moment too.

“We have just got to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we are at our best when we play the games against those other sides towards the top, which thankfully we have been able to do so far.”

Elsewhere, Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s bid to claim a 10th successive victory in all competitions came up short as they were beaten 3-0 away at Brimscombe and Thrupp.

In Division One West, New College climbed off the foot of the table after earning their first league win of the campaign in a 2-1 success away at Easington Sports.

Kane Howcutt and Louis O’Shea netted for College after Charlie Hill had given Sports the lead early in the second half.

Leaders Ardley United proved a cut above Shrivenham, however, as Gareth Davies’ side slipped to a 2-0 defeat on the road.