A 24th minute Laura Bray goal saw Yeovil Town Ladies record a hard earned 1-0 win at Swindon Town Ladies on Sunday.

Swindon entered the game unbeaten at home this season and the Glovers had to work hard on an uneven pitch, which made the Yeovil's normal passing game difficult, but was ideal for Swindon's long ball tactics.

It was clear before the kick off that the surface would make passing the ball more difficult, but despite the challenge of the pitch, the Glovers remained true to their passing game and were rewarded on 24 minutes when the front players combined well and Laura Bray made no mistake, finding the back of the net for a crucial Yeovil lead. Swindon's long ball game meant that the Glovers defense had to deal with a number of Swindon attacks during the first half, the best of which was an excellent chance clipped passed the Yeovil keeper, Rachel Simkin.

In the second half Yeovil made an early change with Rosie Williams returning to the back four after being out for several months due to injuries suffered in a car crash. This change also meant Terri Trowbridge could move into the right wing position, a swap that paid off as Trowbridge was able to get the better of the Swindon left back on several occasions and test their defense with some great crosses.

Throughout the second period Swindon continued to try and push forward, but lacked invention up front and their attacks were easily swept up by the Yeovil defence. In an effort to grab an equalizer, Swindon changed their formation to field an extra attacker, but additional subs for the Glovers (Sarah Roxburgh into midfield and Leah Jennings to right wing), plus strong Yeovil defensive play, allowed the Glovers to see out the game.

Late on the Glovers even had some chances to extend their lead as Swindon's search for a goal left gaps in their defense. The chances fell to Bray and Cornwall and although both missed the opportunity to double the lead, the Glovers defense held firm at the other end of the pitch and Yeovil recorded another crucial league win.

Yeovil Joint Manager Nigel Williams was pleased that the team came through a testing fixture on a less than ideal surface, he said "This match was never going to be a walk in the park and if we went into it thinking that way we would have not got this result - Swindon are a very physical side and had not lost at home this season. I was not happy about the pitch today - it was amazing that all parts of the field of play suffered from undulated ground, making it difficult to get a passing game going. We had to really dig in and fight for every ball. Swindon kept playing long balls up field - trying to get in behind our defence, but we held out, kept another clean sheet and swept up most phases of play".

With just 6 games in the league campaign left, Williams praised the squad's potential and fighting spirit but underscored that he and Sarah Lawler (Joint Manager) were keen to see the team improve further, he said "We just need to keep our feet on the ground, there were some nervous performances out there today, but we showed yet again we can fight a battle as well as play decent football. We will continue to take every game as it comes and will work on things that are not quite there yet. Sarah and I will continue to challenge players to fight for their place in the team and it is great to see every player in the squad rising to the challenge of pushing us forward.

The win at Swindon means Yeovil remain at the top of the South West Combination, five points ahead of second placed Havant & Waterlooville, who have also played one more game than the Glovers.