MELKSHAM Town moved four points clear at the top of the table with an emphatic 4-0 success at struggling Winterbourne United.

There was little to choose between the sides in a cagey first half but Gary Higdon fired Melksham in front just before the break.

And the floodgates opened as soon as the second half got under way following the sending off of Winterbourne’s Lloyd Harding after he brought Higdon down in the box.

That allowed Dan Kovacs to double Melksham’s lead from the spot and Shaun Benison and Mike Perrott also hit the back of the net before the final whistle.

Melksham boss Darren Perrin said: “The boys did very well and it was a very good win.

“The goal right on half-time changed the game, really. The first half was very even but we scored at the right time.

“And after we scored the penalty we were quite comfortable and could have ended up with five or six.”

Kovacs’ goal at Oaklands Park meant he has now scored six times in his last five games and Perrin was pleased with his team’s efforts at both ends.

He said: “Gary takes the credit and the plaudits a lot of the time but Dan is an instrumental part of our side.

“I think we have scored 94 goals this season and we’ve had about 18 or 19 different scorers, which is very, very good.

“I’m delighted with the clean sheet as much as anything. We’ve scored a lot of goals this season but conceded too many for my liking, so to keep a clean sheet was very, very good.”