CARL Davies heaped praise on goal hero Kensley Maloney after seeing him score the winner as Bracknell Town defeated Binfield 1-0 at Hill Farm Lane on Monday, writes Dave Wright.

“He thoroughly deserved his goal for his performances of late, as he has done really well,” said the Robins’ player-manager.

“I think the longer he has played in the middle of the park with Dodds (Jamie McClurg) the better he has become.

“But one thing I have said to him is that he needs to add goals to his game, he rarely shoots. I am always having a go at him for not shooting.

“Then I almost had a go at him on Monday for getting in that shot as I thought he was quite far out, but he took it well and, and as I said, he deserves a goal and will probably win the man of match award again.

“He worked his socks off, but we all did; we had to in order to match them (Binfield) for work rate.”

Maloney’s winner came in the 49th minute of a thoroughly entertaining derby clash that was played in front of a crowd of more than 300, Binfield’s best league attendance of the season.

“It was a tough game,” added Davies. “But we knew it was going to be. We had earmarked this as one of the hardest fixtures we had left, so to get all three points was massive for us, especially after their (Binfield) result at the weekend. All credit to them, because they were very good tonight.”

Centre-back Davies, who was up against his former Binfield teammate and namesake Ian Davies, added: “He was a real handful and made it hard for all 90 minutes, he left me knackered.

“But it was a great game to be involved in and overall, I think we just edged it and deserved to win. It was three vital points for us.”

Bracknell move up one place to fourth in the Hellenic League table with 71 points, 11 fewer than leaders Highworth and six less than second-placed Thatcham. But Robins have nine games left, while Highworth have only four and FA Vase finalists Thatcham seven.

The top two clash at Highworth tonight (Wednesday) for what is a must-win game for the Wiltshire side following their 3-2 defeat at Binfield on Saturday and they face an equally important game on Easter Monday when they take on the Robins at Larges Lane.

“I am not really worried about what other teams are doing,” admitted Davies, who boasts a 100 percent record since taking over as player-manager last month.

“We are just concentrating on ourselves and what we are doing.

“We are just taking one game at a time. Every single game now is a big one for us and we know we cannot afford any slip ups.

“If we win all our remaining games, we will win the league and that is what we are focussing on.”

The Robins, whose last league defeat was at Highworth on December 30, play Royal Wootton Bassett at Larges Lane on Saturday before the return game with the table toppers on Monday (3pm ko).