TROWBRIDGE head coach Dan Jeffries has challenged his side to go unbeaten for the rest of the season after they blew the Southern Counties South title race wide open.

The Doric Park side headed to table-toppers Swanage & Wareham on the back of being handed five points for a home walkover win over basement side Dorset Dockers.

Those points moved Trowbridge to within eight points of Swanage but Jeffries' men then piled on further pressure on them and second-placed Wimborne by defeating the table-toppers 24-10 in the only game in the division to beat the icy conditions.

While the Doric Park men are now just four points off the pace, Jeffries is well aware that they need the top two sides to slip up at least once more for them to make an immediate return to South West One East.

“It is still theirs (Swanage's) to lose,” Jeffries said about the title race. “We have the ability to go to the end of the season unbeaten and that is the aim.

“We still have to play Wimborne (on March 11) and that is going to be a big match, especially if we can get there unbeaten.

“We knew at the start of the season it would take a bit of time to get going because losing and winning becomes a habit.

“Even when we were winning a couple of games at the start of the season, when things got tough, the squad didn’t really know how to handle it.

“But we had a good Christmas break and had some good training sessions.

“If we can make the play-offs and go up, I think that we will be in a good position. If we don’t, then we will be even stronger the following season.”

Trowbridge made a fantastic start at Swanage’s Bestwall Road ground, with Ollie Weaver dotting down for the opening score. Tom Weaver added the extras before kicking a penalty to give his team a 10-0 lead.

Jeffries then lost Shai Bonnick after he sustained an ankle injury, which allowed the hosts to pull a converted score back.

After the interval, which saw the introduction of lock Johnny King, who made the switch from neighbours Bradford on Avon a day earlier Friday, Aiden Trehewey was driven over following a maul. Tom Weaver again dissected the posts from the tee to give the visitors a 17-7 lead.

Following a Swanage penalty, which brought the hosts within seven points of Trowbridge, James Marwick went over for the visitors' third, Tom Weaver converting.