PAULTON Rovers moved up third in the Premier Division of the Jewson Western Football League with a 3-0 away victory over Brislington in midweek.

The signs were good from the opening moments. In the second minute Dean Griffiths had the ball in the net from close range but Kitan Jaiyeoba' cross was adjudged to have crossed the byline. Brislington responded and forced a corner in the 9th minute. Jakob Glover, making his second appearance in the Rovers' goal, had to make a good save from a header.

But it was his last major involvement in the game as Brislington struggled to break down the Rovers defence.The breakthrough came in the 9th minute when Dean Griffiths flicked on a throw-in, finding Kitan Jaiyeoba who held off a defender to smash the ball in off the post.

Griffiths got his head to the ball again in the 22nd minute after a cross from the right by Emman Athanasiou but the keeper took it cleanly.

The next ten minutes or so saw Brislington see a lot of the ball but again, Rovers' defence was able to keep them at bay. The visitors then responded with a move that deserved a goal. Athanasiou was again involved as he found Jaiyeoba who moved the ball quickly to Dean Griffiths who backheeled it to Jaiyeoba who'd continued his run. He found Krystian Woods on the left hand side of the box but his shot went over the bar.

Griffiths was involved again in the 39th minute as he chased down a backpass. The keeper could only kick the ball into Griffiths' chest and the striker picked up the loose ball only to hit his shot narrowly over the bar. Another chance came for Griffiths as Jaiyeoba found him with a long ball. There was work to do for Griffiths before he could get his shot away but he worked some space but the keeper just tipped the shot wide.

The second half opened with Brislington looking strong. They pushed to get an equaliser and had a spell of ten minutes when they saw most of the ball again.

Dean Griffiths was substituted in the 50th minute with Elliot Haffenden replacing him but for an unknown reason both were yellow carded. As it was Griffiths second yellow, he was given his marching orders from the bench.

It took until the 75th minute though for Rovers to double their lead. A Martin Lenihan corner was defended away but only as far as Sam Hill, who knocked the ball into Alex Hallett and he found Elliot Haffenden in the box who made no mistake, firing the ball low into the far corner.

Rovers were now making most of the running and Jaiyeoba had two chances to score in the 81st minute after being found by Haffenden but both attempts were well stopped by the keeper.

The icing on the cake came in the 84th minute when a long ball was well picked up by Elliot Haffenden on the left. He evaded a tackle and made his way into the box squaring the ball to Joel Smedley who tucked the ball in with his first touch after coming on just moments earlier.

It was Paulton’s third successive win in the league - and thoroughly deserved.

Jon Green