SOUTHERN LEAGUE: Marine snatch vital win (From Swindon Advertiser)

SOUTHERN LEAGUE: Marine snatch vital win

9:56am Thursday 16th February 2012 in Local By Ned Payne

SWINDON Supermarine recorded a vital 2-1 victory at home to Arlesey last night in their battle to avoid relegation from the Southern Premier.

Goals from Bradley Gray and Nick Stanley gave the home side a 2-0 lead before the visitors replied with a penalty in the second half.

Gray finished well after finding the ball at his feet in the box after good work out wide, and Stanley fired a superb volley into the roof of the net after a flick-on from Rob Dean.

Supermarine were not happy when the referee awarded a penalty because they were convinced the Arlesey striker stood on the ball rather than being tackled, but it didn’t change the outcome of the game as Marine held on for three valuable points.

Joint manager Gary Horgan was pleased with the way his team performed, but knows they still face a tough battle to beat the drop.

“It is a very big win for us and we needed it I think,” he told the Advertiser.

“We think the penny has finally started to drop in terms of what we need from the players.

“We lost to St Albans and we thought we were unlucky not to get a point there, and then we got a good win at Evesham where we played well, so we need to build on that.

“Despite the win there is still a massive challenge ahead for us, and we know that.

“We think we might need as many as ten wins to guarantee our place in the league next year, and that is the first of them so there is still another nine to go for us now.”

The three points moves Supermarine to six points from safety with two games in hand, but Horgan believes his side’s recent good run has only served to give them a fighting chance of staying up.

“If we had lost our last few games we would have been in serious trouble but I think now we have just managed to bring ourselves back into contention,” he said.

“In a way I think our season starts now, and we need to keep this run going to be able to make the most of the last few games.

“If we lose our next two then we are right back where we started from so we know we have to work to avoid that.

“Evesham went on a really good run and managed to drag themselves away from the bottom and back into the pack, and I believe their manager has said he would not be happy with anything less than a tenth place finish.

“I am not saying we are going to finish that high, but I do think we can put a good run together and give ourselves a real chance.”