Alves strike secures hard-fought City win

City secured a much-needed victory over Salisbury at Twerton Park this evening thanks to a Jordan Alves goal midway through the first half. The visitors enjoyed the majority of the possession after the break but City stood firm to pick up the three points and move above the Wiltshire side.

And early slip by keeper Lincoln almost let in Ben Seymour before Scott Wilson latched onto a ball over the top only for Franklin to produce a great tackle, as City started the game brightly. Salisbury responded with Coppin firing a good chance over and Harvey Wiles-Richards getting down well to a Silva shot. So it was slightly against the run of play when in the 22nd minute Alves cut inside to drive a low shot past Franklin. Wiles-Richards had to be at his best to tip Watts’ effort behind on 33 minutes and despite a series of corners for the Whites, City reached the break with their narrow lead intact.

City couldn’t take advantage of Lincoln spilling a straight-forward claim shortly after the restart and the Whites were soon enjoying the vast majority of the play. However, they struggled to turn this dominance into clear openings, with Wiles-Richards only called into action to deal with a couple of routine long-range shots. He also showed excellent handling on several crosses despite the damp conditions and, as the game entered its closing stages, Salisbury began to look increasingly devoid of ideas. There was one final scare in stoppage time when a deep cross picked out an unmarked Coxe but he got his header all wrong and moments later City could celebrate a first league win since early October.