Cinderford Town rounded off September with a solid 2-0 victory over Thornbury Town at The Causeway, with goalkeeper Lewis Adams named Man of the Match after a string of fine saves.

The Foresters, one of two sides relegated from the Southern League last season, showed both resilience and clinical finishing to claim all three points.

Thornbury, boosted by the return of Harry Brock and the first start in nine months for Joe Guest, began brightly, using the slope in their favour during the first half. Adams was called into action early to deny Brock with a sharp header, before Callum Chalmers had the ball in the net only for it to be ruled out for offside.

While the visitors enjoyed more early territory, Cinderford made their set pieces count. A flurry of corners eventually told in the 30th minute when Adam Davies whipped one in from the left, his inswinging delivery sneaking through a crowded box and into the net to give the hosts the lead.

The second half saw few chances of note until a defensive lapse from Thornbury presented Cinderford with the chance to double their advantage. A poor clearance fell to Lewis Powell on 70 minutes, and the experienced striker made no mistake, driving a superb finish past Mackenzie Welsh.

With a two-goal cushion, Cinderford were forced to rely on Adams to preserve their advantage as Thornbury pushed forward. The goalkeeper produced a magnificent save to deny Chalmers from close range, before showing sharp reflexes to keep out Will Fowler’s back-post header. Substitute Kamal Yasin also tested him from distance, but Adams stood firm throughout to secure a clean sheet.

The Foresters, who had introduced Jaxson Hundt and Jonas Dobson in the latter stages, managed the lengthy stoppage-time period after a head injury to Camen Harvey with composure to see the result through.

The win underlined Cinderford’s growing momentum, with the defensive steel of Adams and the clinical edge of their attacking play proving decisive.

Cinderford now turn their attention to their next challenge, an away trip to Hallen AFC on Saturday, October 4, where they will look to build on this result and continue climbing the Hellenic Premier Division table.