WESTBURY United joint-manager Joe Kirkpatrick was chuffed to see simplicity pay off once again as his team earned their third win in a row with a 1-0 victory at Ashton & Backwell United on Wednesday night.

Kirkpatrick, who took over at Meadow Lane alongside father Neil at the beginning of February, has seen his side haul themselves up to 13th in the Toolstation League First Division, citing a ‘back-to-basics’ approach as the bedrock for Westbury’s upturn in form.

On Wednesday, they managed to upset sixth-placed Ashton in North Somerset, Martin Johnson’s notching midway through the first half before United held on to claim all three points.

“It was probably our best performance since we’ve been in charge,” said Kirkpatrick.

“We knew that this was going to be a tough game because Ashton are a good side and the conditions were really difficult when we got there – the wind was mad and the rain was on-and-off all night.

“We defended really well and Martin Johnson has got our goal about 25-30 minutes in.

“I think we probably should have been 2-0 up by then because Jamie Jordan missed what I would call a sitter but he told me that the chance was a lot harder than it looked.

“We’ve worked really hard and that’s why we’ve done well.

“We’ve just tried to keep it simple and go back to basics with our football, and it seems to be working.”

On Saturday, Jamie Jordan’s two second-half goals saw Westbury beat Welton Rovers 2-0.

This weekend, they face a tough assignment as Premier Division Willand Rovers rock up at Meadow Lane in the last 16 of the Les Phillips Cup but Kirkpatrick says that he and his father may shuffle their pack.

The United co-boss said: “I think that we’ll mix it up a little bit and try and have a look at some of the players that we’ve not seen yet.

“The league is our priority this year, so we’re not worrying about the cup as much.

“We’ve got nine league games to go and our aim is to finish in the top 10 if we can.

“We’re four points off that at the moment, so we’ll just try and get as many points as we can between now and the end of the season.”

Meanwhile, Warminster Town were denied the chance to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat at Hengrove Athletic last Saturday as their home clash with Wellington on Wednesday night was rained off.

Corsham Town’s derby clash with Calne Town did survive the elements but they were put to the sword by Stuart Windsor’s five-goal haul, with Craig Gingell and Craig Fullam replying as the Southbankers were beaten 5-2.

Goals from Robbie Burton and Josh Bright put Corsham 2-0 against Roman Glass St George on Saturday up but their visitors roared back to win 3-2, with the match proving painful one for visiting goalie Nathan John, who fractured his neck but still completed 90 minutes.