Peare treble leaves Centurions’ play-off destiny in their own hands
George Peare came off the bench to net three after Cirencester Town were down to ten men to complete a remarkable comeback against fellow play-off hopefuls Corsham Town in a decisive clash, writes Alfie Richmond.
The Centurions occupied the fourth and final play-off spot prior to kick-off, with just a point separating them and the visitors — Corsham Town. A game in hand gave the away side a slight edge, meaning the stakes had never been higher in what was a huge clash for both sides at the Corinium Stadium.
Their last meeting ended in a 2-2 stalemate a couple of weeks ago, but neither team would be settling for anything less than three points this time around.
The visitors started the better of the two sides, knocking the ball around confidently — though Ciren remained resolute in their shape.
The hosts’ first venture forward saw Fraser Bell send in a good-looking cross that just evaded Harlie Price on 17 minutes.
A first shot on target came for the away side 11 minutes later when Lewis Gilchrist’s cross found Jake Wilson, but his headed effort into the ground was comfortably dealt with by Ronnie Newbery in the Cirencester goal.
Wilson then came on the receiving end of a late Ieuan Bailey challenge moments later, who was shown a yellow card directly in front of the Corsham dug-out despite their shouts for a dismissal.
With three minutes of the first half remaining, the away side took the lead. Nick McCootie held the ball up well to smartly flick it in-behind to Jerry Lawrence — who made no mistake to score at a pivotal time in the match.
Newbury caught Alfie Presley’s strike from range, while Bailey flashed a corner across the Corsham box up the other end, but the visitors went into the break with the lead after a tense and cautious first 45.
Pressure was applied by Corsham in the early exchanges of the second half, with chances missed by both Wilson and Braden Humphreys.
But the hosts fashioned themselves their best chance of the game on 53 minutes — some brilliant work by Bailey gave the chance for Price to set Jonty Welch, who could only fire straight into the Corsham keeper.
The visitors thought they’d doubled their lead a few minutes later after a well-worked move saw Lawrence round Newbery, but the angle closed up and he could only send his effort into the side netting.
Tempers had begun to flare, and Cirencester were down to ten men after 62 minutes. Price was adjudged to have caught Humphreys high in the middle of the park, with the referee immediately reaching for his back pocket — it was a huge turning point in not only the game, but potentially in both sides’ seasons.
The Centurions faced a huge up-hill battle with 25 minutes remaining.
But almost instantly, they responded. Welch picked the pocket of Presley in the midfield to pass it on to substitute George Peare. He wonderfully struck low into the bottom corner to draw the home side level with 20 minutes to go.
Peare sent the home support into pandemonium 8 minutes later as he grabbed a second with 78 minutes on the clock. Bell’s low cross was inch-perfect for the on-coming forward to tap home from close-range to incredibly complete the turnaround, with 12 minutes to hang onto the lead.
Corsham’s Jaden Brown was cautioned on 83 minutes after a frustrated challenge left Aidan Bennett on the ground as Cirencester held their defensive shape.
The visitors’ pursuit for an equaliser left space in behind for the home side, who, with four minutes remaining, incredibly scored a third to seal the win — with Peare grabbing a hat-trick. He couldn’t miss after Welch’s mis-hit kindly fell to him from centimetres out.
Welch had a chance himself to get on the scoresheet in the final closings of the game after stinging the palms of Ryan Clarke, and a wild attempt from Gilchrist signalled a stunning comeback and an immense result for The Centurions that would all but see them compete in the play-offs.
With just one final game remaining, Ciren head to Westfields next Saturday, knowing victory will seal their place in the play-offs.
John Brough’s side will be hoping for a helping hand from Gloucester based Longlevens, who Corsham head to in their game in hand on Thursday night.
No matter what happens on Thursday night, Cirencester know they are just one win away from extending their season.
Cirencester Town: Newbery; Bell, Morris, N.Peare, Pitts, Turley, Bennett ©, Stalley, Price, Welch, Bailey.
Subs: Scott (7’), G.Peare (56’), Hill, Stratford (75’), Sawyer.
Corsham Town: Clarke; Wilson, Lynden, Humphreys, Lawerence, Rose, Jeremy, Gilchrist ©, Presley, McCootie, Kouisseoue.
Subs: Freckleton, Hall, Hill, Salawu (71’), Brown (62’).
C Martin Roofing Man of the Match – George Peare (Cirencester Town)
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