ANDY Sandell’s spot-kick six minutes from time saw Southern League Premier Division leaders Chippenham Town extend their unbeaten streak to 16 games with a 1-0 win at Stratford Town on Saturday.

In what was overall a tight 90 minutes in Warwickshire, the decisive moment came in the dying stages when Dave Pratt was felled in the Stratford box, allowing strike partner Sandell the chance to secure the Bluebirds all three points from 12 yards.

The victory, coupled with a defeat for second-placed Merthyr Town at Slough Town by the same scoreline, pushed Mark Collier’s men eight points clear at the summit.

“It was quite an even first half. We looked a little jaded for the first half-an-hour and we changed the formation around with about 15 minutes and thought we’d get in at 0-0 and reassess the situation,” said Collier.

“In the second half, we were slightly more dominant with the ball and created some decent chances and got the goal.

“We could have gone on and got a couple more after that, so it was a professional job well done on a difficult pitch against a team, who by their own admission, played better than they have been doing of late.

“It was a job well done and three big points.”

Having faltered in the closing stages while in promotion position last season, Collier is not looking too far ahead but cannot help but feel buoyant about the way his side are performing at present.

“It’s a very decent run and the credit goes to the players; it’s a great effort by everybody,” said Collier, whose side drew 1-1 at Kings Langley last Tuesday.

“It was another 1-0 win so a clean sheet and Darren Chitty, in goal, and the back four, have defended with a lot of purpose. It was a good all-round effort from the whole squad.

“We haven’t played well in the last two games by our own standards but we’ve managed to grind out four points from two difficult away games.

“We are moving in the right direction and with 10 games to go, there’s 30 points still available and the plan is to get as many as we can.”