St Ives Town continued their winning streak to leave the Southern League Premier Division relegation zone behind them yesterday.

An early Danny Kelly header earned a 1-0 victory against bottom side Cinderford at ProEdge Westwood Road.

It was a fourth successive win in all competitions for a Saints side who have been revitalised since a 7-0 home drubbing at the hands of Kettering a fortnight ago.

And the latest victory came complete with a rare clean sheet for a makeshift Saints defence.

They lost central defender Lee Chaffey to a metatarsal injury in the opening half. It meant midfielder Jack Bradshaw had to drop into a back-four which also featured a left-back - Jordan Jarrold - having to operate on the right side of defence.

Manager Ricky Marheineke said: “The game lacked any real quality from either side.

“Cinderford have a new manager and a lot of new players, and they came within a plan to try to stay in the game for as long as possible.

“Thankfully we got an early goal which was very important, but we missed a couple of good chances to kill it off.

“That led to a nervy final 10 minutes, but we got the three points and that’s all that matters in a results-based industry.”

Saints now sit 18th in the Premier Division standings - three points above the drop-zone and one point above Huntingdonshire rivals St Neots Town.