FRONTRUNNERS Danny Finnigan and Eddie Perrett relished the derby day fixture as their Amesbury Town goals piled the pressure on leaders Fleet Spurs at the Wessex Division One summit.

The strike partners completed the job in question inside the half-hour mark as s e c o n d - p l a c e d Amesbury Town held off a determined Laverstock and Ford at The Dell.

Finnigan headed home the first inside ten minutes and the Blues’ lead was doubled when Perrett smashed home from the spot after Luke Greenway was fouled in the area.

The 2-0 victory was a good job but not “pretty”, according to visiting manager Gareth Horner, pictured left.

He said of h i s c h a r g e s : “The aim f o r S a t u r d a y was to come away with three points.

“We knew beforehand that it wasn’t going to be a pretty affair.

“It was obvious from the start that Laverstock were intent on pressing high and getting in and amongst us. “To be fair to my players they adapted well and did a job without being spectacular.

“We could have been behind very early but once that chance had passed I felt that we were always in control apart from a brief spell in the second half.

“With two cup games coming up, it was important we secured maximum points. It will now give the chasing pack a chance to catch up with their games so the table will have a more accurate feel in a fortnight or so.

“Our aim is to be amongst the top six at Christmas and we’ll have a go from there.”

Horner’s counterpart Robbie Lakeman, pictured left, said Amesbury were worthy winners of the notorious Wessex derby.

“Amesbury are a side full of confidence and you can see that we are lacking that in our play at the moment.

“Although we matched them in the second half, the game was finished in the first half which they deservedly won.

“There are no sides that good in the league this season so it could prove to be a wide open race.”

Bidding to secure their places in the next round of the FA Vase on Saturday, Amesbury Town travel to Longwell Green Sports and Laverstock and Ford go to Wessex Premier big guns Winchester City. Both are 3pm kick offs.

Lakeman added: “We now go into our Vase game versus Winchester on Saturday able to enjoy the day without the pressure of the league.”