BRACKNELL Town made it 13 successive Hellenic League wins by beating Windsor 1-0 at Stag Meadow on Friday evening, writes Dave Wright.

The only goal came from a Seb Bowerman penalty just after the hour mark in a game which saw the home side finish with 10 men following a straight red card for Paul Coyne.

Victory did not come easy, as mid-table Windsor put up a stubborn fight, but there was no doubting the best team won.

The title-chasing Robins were solid in defence with centre-backs Carl Davies, in particular, and Joe Gater not putting a foot wrong, while left-back Ryan Parsons turned in a man-of-the-match performance.

The midfield battles were largely evenly balanced, while Town looked more dangerous in attack, especially in the second half, although overall they lacked their usual sharp finishing.

They kept the same front line as they had finished with when beating Brackley Town Saints 4-0 with three late goals last week, which meant Joe Grant and TJ Bohane down the middle, with Darren Wheeler and Bowerman on the flanks and leading scorer Adam Cornell sitting on the bench.

Windsor’s vastly experienced ex-professional Barry Hayles started the game in a defensive role, but it was not long before he reverted to his usual attacking position.

Early on, there were one-on-one chances at both ends, but Ramel Sutherland’s hesitation as he looked to round keeper Chris Grace enabled defenders to get back to clear the danger, while Windsor goalie Hugo Sobte bravely threw himself in Grant’s path.

After that, there was little goalmouth action at either end with the game going through a scrappy patch.

Bracknell, however, finished the half well and they continued to enjoy more of the possession after the interval and it was then they went ahead.

Max Herbert put Grant away down the left and as he moved into the area he was brought down by Elliott Woodham, which left the Bracknell forward needing nearly three minutes of treatment before Bowerman got the chance to beat Sobte from the penalty spot, sending him the wrong way.

He now has 26 goals for the season and is one of five Bracknell players among the top 10 scorers in the league’s Premier Division hot-shot list.

Soon afterwards, Bowerman was not far away from adding to his tally with a shot that went wide, while Grant’s left-wing cross just eluded Bohane, and the Robins were certainly not showing their usual sharpness in front of goal.

Yet, with their defence outstanding, it always looked as if the one goal would be sufficient, even more so when Windsor were reduced to 10 men with 15 minutes remaining.

Coyne brought down Bowerman close to the half-way line and that triggered off a flare-up with players running from distance to get involved.

He was sent off, while Bracknell coach Steve Nebbett, who raced onto the pitch, was ordered out of the dugout onto the terraces.

Grant had a chance to double Town’s lead seconds before the final whistle when he raced clear, only to be denied by the Sobte, who is set to join Brentford next season.

On a night of free admission, Bracknell’s visit attracted a very healthy crowd of 471 to Stag Meadow, easily their best in the league this season.

The Robins travel to Lydney Town on Thursday (7.45pm) before their last home game of the season against Tuffley Rovers this Saturday (3pm) when they will be celebrating their promotion.