Cirencester fall to late penalty

Cirencester Town 1 AFC Hayes 2: It was a case of déjà vu for Cirencester as, for the second time this season, a late penalty cost them against Hayes.

The home side, playing with a fierce wind behind them in the first half, wasted a number of good chances before taking the lead on 43 minutes.

Tom Etheridge launched one of his trademark long throws into the Hayes penalty area and defender Andy Minturn nodded the ball into the far bottom corner of the net.

Cirencester's Scott Griffin shot wide early in the second half and Steve Davies was also off target when a pass to the unmarked Griffin might have been the better option.

Hayes got back into the game with a Dean Clark free-kick in the 65th minute and then, despite Jason Welsh hitting the post at the other end, it was the visitors who pressed for the decider.

This duly arrived when Dean Papali dispatched a last-minute penalty after he was held back by Lee Spalding as he raced into the box.