The Larks defied the form book and dealt a blow to Manor Farm's hopes of automatic promotion (and no doubt delighted the watching Salisbury manager Steve Claridge) with a dogged victory at Plain Ham last night.

The match was topped and tailed by two goals. Aysa Corrick gave us a very early lead, finally getting his name on the scoresheet when he exploited an error by Manor Farm keeper Ashley Clark to fire home from close range. Our visitors appeared stunned and for a spell the Larks dominated possession, threatening to score again. Manor Farm roused themselves towards half time: under attack from their forwards, young full-back Oliver Morris defended with aplomb and Shaun Semmens kept a level head in the Larks' goal under pressure from ex-Lark Cory Simpson.

The second half involved a bit more defending from the Larks' perspective. Lloyd Mills missed the target for the visitors, in a heart-stopping moment Neil Arndale had to clear off the line, and man of the match Josh Jones put in a typically resilient performance in central defence. At the other end of the pitch midfielder Matt Britton nearly scored with a sensational direct free-kick. As time wore on and an equaliser proved elusive Manor Farm got more fractious and also started to make more mistakes.

An inspired substitution sealed the win for the Larks late on when Joe Tumelty came on with some 15 minutes to go. A well-worked move from midfield, led by the tireless Alex Lambert, enabled Aysa to retain possession and cue up Joe for his 20th goal of the season, a classy, nerveless strike that left Clark rooted on the spot.

The win was well deserved: the home side worked hard for each other and, crucially, controlled the game when only 1-0 up.