GARY Higdon’s second-half strike was enough for Melksham Town to take all three points from their trip to Cribbs in the Toolstation League Premier Division on Saturday.

Melksham had already hit the bar through Ben Thomson and seen a Sam Jordan effort cleared off the line before Higdon finally put them ahead after 68 minutes, poking home Lee Davidson’s cross.

Perrin was particularly pleased with his team’s clean sheet in Bristol after Melksham had failed to record a shut-out in their previous five games.

“It was a tough game but I think we were worthy winners,” said Perrin, whose side remain third in the table.

“It was very windy and very blustery, and Cribbs are a tough team to play, so I was delighted with the performance.

“The clean sheet is very encouraging. We have been a lot more expansive with our play this year and that can be seen by the goals we’ve scored. I think there’s only one or two teams that have scored more than us in the league this season.

“As a result of that, we have been a lot more open, but we were a lot more like our old selves on Saturday and were very hard to break down.”

Perrin thinks victory at the weekend as good as rubber-stamps his side’s hopes of a top-four finish in the table, although Melksham could yet improve on that as they are only four points behind second-placed Street with a game in hand.

“I’m very pleased with the win and I think that it, alongside other results at the weekend, all but guarantees our aim of securing a top-four finish,” said Perrin.

“Second is still very much a possibility but we can’t affect what the other teams do. All we can do is keep winning matches ourselves.

“Street have still got to come to our place so it’s still in our hands but the most important thing now is preparing for what will be another tough game against Bridport on Saturday.

“We’ll just keep our own house in order, focus on ourselves, and try to win that next match. Then, once we’re back in the changing rooms come 5pm, we will look what the other results were.”

Bradford Town saw their seven-match winning run come to an end at the weekend with a 4-1 defeat at champions-elect Bristol Manor Farm.

Mark Wall netted a late consolation for Danny Greaves’ side, who remain fifth in the table and travel to Gillingham Town in the Les Phillips Cup second round on Saturday.