ASH Edenborough admitted winning the pre-match coin toss proved vital in Swindon Supermarine’s 3-0 away win at Bishop’s Cleeve.

The striker scored two of Marine’s three first-half goals, with defender Jon Steadman opening the scoring, in a game heavily affected by heavy winds which often made it difficult to pass the ball.

Marine skipper Dave Bampton won the coin toss before kick-off and elected to shoot downhill in the opening 45 minutes, and striker Edenborough believes the pre-match victory ultimately proved vital.

“It was good to win even though conditions were awful, because it was just so windy,” he said.

“For once Bamps won the toss and it was lucky he did to be fair because in the first-half we did really well and went downhill with the wind and got three goals.

“In the second-half it was even worse and we just couldn’t get out of our own half and we had to defend really hard. Kent (Kauppinen, goalkeeper) touched the ball the most he ever as in a game I think but all that kept happening was the ball just blew back towards him and going out of play.

“It was lucky we got the three goals in the first-half and it was a toss Bamps really needed to win. As long as we scored a few in the first-half we were always comfortable defending and slowing it down in the second, but if it was 1-0 we might have struggled a little.”

Edenborough was pleased with his two goals but was equally happy to watch defender Steadman celebrate a rare strike in comical fashion.

“For the first one the ball just bounced out to me in the box and for the second (Josh) Parsons flicked it round the corner and I smashed it into the top corner from outside the box,” he said.

“Steaders got on the scoresheet and when he scored he celebrated like a 12-year-old boy.

“He just shouted screaming ‘yes’ into the air. He scored from a corner and he wasn’t supposed to go up for it, he was supposed to be defending and he didn’t really know what he was doing.”

The forward has been reunited with last season’s strike partner Josh Parsons since the pair returned to Marine following brief stints at Hungerford, but Edenborough doesn’t expect the pair, who netted more than 50 times between them last season, to produce their best football until after Christmas as they search for match fitness.

“It’s brilliant, I love it because he’s such a good player,” he said.

“He relieves the pressure on the whole team because he can keep the ball and he’s great for the whole team.

“Once we have a more settled team it will benefit everyone and it can got back to how it was last year, but it’s not there just yet.

“Josh had a few games out and I’ve been out a bit, but once we are back after the Christmas period that’s when we will hopefully peak.

“Last season we peaked early and faded towards the end because we had so many games at once but this year it would be great to peak near the end and hopefully take the form into the play-offs.”