MARK Collier never had any doubts that Chippenham Town would fold in the face of second-half pressure from Cirencester Town after maintaining their unbeaten start to the new season on Monday.

Strikes from Dave Pratt and Matt Jones put the Bluebirds two goals to the good at the interval at Hardenhuish Park before Cirencester rallied after the restart.

Visiting skipper Matthew Liddiard found the net to give his side a lifeline but Chippenham were able to gather themselves and another goal each from Pratt and Jones sealed the 4-1 win that saw them finish the first month of the season top of the Southern League Premier Division table.

“We started well and going into half-time 2-0 up I said to the players: ‘I don’t think Cirencester can beat us, I think the only way we can lose is if we lose it ourselves’,” said boss Collier.

“Of course, we then came out for the second half and started quite poorly and they came back into the game and got a goal back.

“The feeling changes from being comfortable to being a bit uneasy but I still felt we were in control of the game.

“We changed to go three up front and moved Alan Griffin forward and soon after that, Dave Pratt ended up getting the third goal following a really superb pass from Andy Sandell and that really killed them off, and then Matt Jones put the icing on the cake with the fourth goal.

“I never felt that we were in danger of losing the game as although we looked a little bit uncomfortable for 20 minutes, we needed to stick at it and our quality would come through and that’s what we were able to do.”

Collier made just one change to the side that had drawn 3-3 at St Neots Town on Saturday and although he faces a balancing act keeping his whole squad happy, the Bluebirds boss is keen to make the most of their flying start.

“I considered making changes on Monday but when you are playing well and the players are full of confidence, it’s hard to leave them out,” said Collier.

“It’s then also hard for the guys on the bench because they want the team to do well but they know that it means we are going to have to lose a game or someone has to get injured for them to get their chance.

“It’s a juggling act but with the momentum we have got, everyone is in good spirits at the moment.”