SHRIVENHAM put their recent Hellenic Premier Division league woes behind them to make Challenge Cup progress on Saturday, beating Division Two East outfit Long Crendon 3-0 away from home.

Josh Morse’s brace coupled with Matt Halsall’s late strike into the bottom right corner made for a pleasing performance in the eyes of manager Gareth Davies, who admitted he was pleased with his side’s performance in both boxes.

After being dumped out of the FA Vase and losing their latest Hellenic Premier League contest 5-3, Davies was keen to see Shrivenham return to winning form against Saturday’s opposition – who play two tiers below.

While Davies admitted his men fell victim to the home side’s early pressure, the Shrivenham boss was afterwards pleased with the response displayed on the pitch.

He said: “We were under a bit of pressure on Saturday, on paper we were expected to win the contest.

“I think it had banana skin written all over it to be honest, they’re a Division Two East side.

“I didn’t think they played badly at all. They came at us in the first 20 minutes and we had to weather the storm.

“As we grew into the game, the quality that we do possess started to tell.

“When our chances came we took them, that was pleasing – especially given our form recently.

“It was a must win game for us.”

The game presented Davies with his first opportunity to field new players Macauley Dodson and Sean McKeon, who signed from Carterton.

The pair both performed well with McKeon coming off the bench to create two of Shrivenham’s three goals.

“No disrespect to any side in Division Two East, but we were expected to win,” admitted Davies.

“The pressure was a little bit more on us because of that. We looked nervous in the first 15 minutes, that was to be expected.

“We had some quality in front of goal and that told.

“I’m happy with a clean sheet, defensively we’ve not been the greatest.

“But I thought we defended very well in spells yesterday when we were under a lot of pressure, we dealt with it.

“We bought Macauley Dodson in during the week, he played right back yesterday and I thought he looked solid – as did the whole back four.

“Sean Mckeon came off the bench and set two goals up, he did very well.

“Overall it was a positive result.”

Elsewhere in the Hellenic League, Connor Thompson’s strike earned Fairford Town a point at home against Windsor while Royal Wootton Bassett were dumped out of the Challenge Cup after losing 4-0 at Tuffley Rovers.