After a dismal run which had seen them secure just two points from their last eight league matches Clanfield 85 made their first visit to The Playing Fields for some time a memorable one when they defeated the previously ten wins out of ten matches League Leaders Ardley United by 3-0.

With Manager Peter Osborne serving a suspension Assistant Managers Jamie Butt and Martin Staddon took charge and the team included teenagers Callum Davies, Frankie Cato and Zac Oliver with Aaron Morton on the substitutes bench. All four had played in the FA Youth Cup Second Round Proper on Thursday with the Clubs Under 18 team but none showed any reaction to a hard match and a late return home!

From the kick off Ardley looked for the early breakthrough but met up with stern resistance and goalkeeper Jamie Zoldan was rarely troubled. Playing up the slope Clanfield and particularly Oliver gave problems to the Ardley defence and after a number of near misses it was Oliver who cut in from the right to curl a superb left footer in to the top left hand corner of the Ardley net in the 42nd minute to give the visitors a halftime lead.

Stung by this the League Leaders got to grips with the game and pressed strongly without really troubling Zoldan and it was Clanfield who scored the next goal in the 62nd minute. A high cross field pass by Conor Tinsley found Oliver who evaded and then outpaced his marker to round the keeper and slide the ball in from the narrowest of angles.

Back came Ardley and Clanfield were forced to defend sometimes with desperation. Zoldan twice saved well and the back four of Ryan Moore, Adam Pendell, Jozef Fullerton and Davies were kept very busy. Jack Kennedy was replaced by Jack Payne and Callum Miller was replaced by Joe Hiscock but it was Oliver who had the last word. Good work by Luke Cooper saw Ryan Moore find the striker with a through ball and despite an attempt to bring him down he sped clear to beat the advancing goalkeeper from the edge of the area to round off a fine victory for the Robins and his own personal hat-trick.

Meanwhile, Our Development Side's trip to Cheltenham Saracens Reserves was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.