BRACKNELL Town striker Adam Cornell appears to enjoy the Gloucestershire air, writes Dave Wright.

Three weeks after scoring two in a 4-4 draw at Lydney, he bagged four goals as Robins thumped Tuffley Rovers 6-1 on Saturday.

It was a massive win for Bracknell as both sides are battling to get clear of the Hellenic League Premier Division relegation zone.

On this showing, the Larges Lane men look well set to survive and, with plenty of games in hand, they could well lift themselves close to a mid-table finish, especially if Cornell can continue to bang in the goals.

He bagged a first-half hat-trick with strikes in the 26th, 32nd and 43rd minutes. His first goal saw George Short pick out the striker who lobbed goalkeeper Jake Underwood from 22 yards.

Six minutes later Cornell volleyed in from about the same distance following good work from Short and Declan Kirby, and he then showed his predatory instincts just before half time when a corner was not cleared and he was able to turn and fire into the left hand corner from 14 yards out.

The home side pulled a goal back in the 56th minutes when substitute Walter Greenwood swung in a free-kick from the left and full-back Kieran Squires was unmarked to head beyond Garry Aulsberry.

The visitors restored their three-goal advantage when Cornell got the better of Rovers defender Glenn Gittens and rounded Underwood before slotting the ball into an empty net on 63 minutes.

Five minutes later midfielder James Suarez added a fifth goal and the scoring was completed in the 70th minute when Kennie Chamberlain found Short, and his deep cross was met by the head of Kirby who sent the ball back across goal into the far right-hand corner.

The game was slightly marred by Tuffley captain Warren Mann appearing to bite the arm of Robins’ young defender George Lock on 83 minutes.

“Going to a place like Tuffley and beating them 6-1, it doesn’t get much more convincing than than that,” said manager Mark Tallentire.

“We took most of our chances, but we also had two or three more and their keeper also made some excellent saves, in the first half in particular.”

With Carl Davies and Jamie McClurg both not available, recent-signing Lee Rushe took over the captaincy, having scored in the 2-1 win over North Leigh United in last Tuesday’s Bluefin Sports Supplementary Cup win.

“He was fantastic with the team,” said Tallentire.

“He shown a lot of leadership skills since he joined. He is a natural talker on the pitch and is lively in the dressing room.”