F/T: Fairford Town 3 Shortwood Utd Res 0

Reds round off the season with convincing home victory

FAIRFORD Town rounded off their Uhlsport Hellenic Division One West campaign with a 3-0 home win over Shortwood United Reserves on Saturday.

The home side’s hopes of promotion now lie in the hands of the teams around them, who still have league fixtures to play.
Manager Gareth Davies saw his side under pressure early on with captain Matt Boucher and ‘keeper Ben Mitchell denying the visitors opportunities. Fairford then created chances of their own with James Townsend and Luke Cordery both going close before the opening goal of the afternoon arrived.

A cross from the right hand side by Cordery was dummied by Danny Hale with Jack Ellis on hand at the back post to slot the ball home with 32 minutes on the clock. The scorer went close moments later but his lofted effort fell the wrong side of the bar.
Just before the break Fairford grabbed their second three minutes before the break with a shot from right-back Dan Hill deflected by Ryan Meredith and over Duane Portlock in the Shortwood goal.

The two-goal cushion gave Fairford momentum going into the second period but they only added one more to their tally. It was a well-taken team goal with Lee Smith unselfishly squaring the ball for Ellis who finished with aplomb to extend the Fairford advantage.

Chances came and went for the home side in the remainder of the half, but Shortwood wasted a golden opportunity to get off the mark with an 89 minute penalty after a foul by substitute Jason Milhench. Jamie Walker missed the target to round off a tough afternoon for the visitors.

The full-time whistle then blew to round off an impressive season from Fairford, transformed from a relegation fight last season to promotion challengers this time around. With much to play for elsewhere in the division, the Reds’ squad know they can now do no more in their push for promotion.

F/T: Fairford Town 3 Shortwood United 0