DAVE Clayton refused to criticise defender Jamie Oliver over his red card as Town went third in the table with a 1-0 win over Chard.

Oliver was caught in possession near his own area and sent off for subsequently pulling back a Chard attacker, leaving Melksham to play for two-thirds of the match with 10 men.

Clayton, who saw Dave Macey’s strike on the hour give him a second successive victory since taking charge, said: “The sending off was the right decision, because he got caught in possession, but he (Oliver) was trying to play the ball out from the back, which is what I want to see.

“He’ll be a better footballer for it.’’

Clayton added: “We were the better side with 11 men and the better side with 10 too. The score flattered them (Chard).’’ The win stretched Town’s unbeaten to nine games and Clayton added: “We have three cup games coming up so it was good to get a win before them.

“We’re third at the moment and we’ve got games in hand as well.’’

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