BASINGSTOKE Town moved two points clear at the top of the Vanarama Conference South with a hard-fought victory over visiting Whitehawk at The Soccer AM Stadium last night.

The hosts were not at their best with the ball for much of the game, struggling to pass their way through a congested midfield. As a result, they were on the back foot for much of the second half, but they defended excellently as a team to maintain the lead given to them by Chris Flood, restricting the visitors to a couple of half-chances.

The big news before kick-off was that former Town favourite Sergio Torres was not involved, the Whitehawk midfielder missing out due to injury.

The game began at a very high tempo, with both sides pressing when out of possession and forcing mistakes from the opposition.

An excellent turn from Shaun McAuley took three players out of the game and forced the first corner of the evening on 13 minutes. Manny Williams really should have scored from Tom Bird’s second attempt to cross the ball, heading over from six yards.

However, that miss was soon forgotten as Flood gave his side a 15th-minute lead, heading home Bird’s pin-point cross from the edge of the six-yard box.

The goal marked the start of Town’s best period of the match, and they could have had gone further ahead, with Liam Enver-Marum twice denied by visiting goalkeeper Craig Ross.

Ross had to be on his mettle to keep out the striker’s well-struck effort from a tight angle, while he saved with his legs when Enver-Marum beat the offside trap.

Whitehawk weathered the storm and had a good spell of their own. Stuart Moore made a good save to keep out David Ijaha’s shot from distance, while Jake Robinson hacked over from close range when Town failed to deal with a corner.

Lee Hills and Sam Deering also went close from distance, but Basingstoke ended the half on top, with Flood forcing a decent save out of Ross and David Ray’s header from the resulting corner being cleared off the line.

The second half belonged to Whitehawk, with the visitors pinning Town back for long periods, while the hosts struggled to string two passes together.

However, despite all of the pressure, Basingstoke held firm, working hard as a team to deny the visitors much in the way of clear chances.

Sahr Kabba had home hearts beating faster when he cut in from the right and smashed a shot against Moore’s near post, while the goalkeeper did well to hold on to a Deering shot as the game ticked into the final 10 minutes.

Flood had an opportunity to seal the victory but could not get enough curl on his shot and while Whitehawk threw more and more men forward late on, they were unable to break down a resolute Town defence.

Click here to see a post-match interview with Basingstoke Town manager Jason Bristow

PLAYER RATINGS

Stuart Moore – 8 (out of 10)

Another really good display from the young goalkeeper, in tricky conditions. Made some decent saves when needed and was assured when coming for crosses.

Nathan Smart – 7

Solid defensively. Wasted some good crossing positions with poor delivery.

Tom Bird – 8

A decent defensive display and a constant outlet on the left. Excellent cross to set up the goal.

Louie Soares – 7

Town’s best midfielder on the night. Caused problems but didn’t make the most of some promising positions.

Jay Gasson – 8

A couple of dodgy moments but a strong all-round display.

David Ray – 9 (Gazette Star Man)

Another game where the centre-back didn’t put a foot wrong. Headed every ball and made every block.

Simon Dunn – 6

Worked hard in the anchor role but miss-timed several challenges and ended up getting booked.

Shaun McAuley – 6

A couple of good moments but otherwise, not his best game. Gave the ball away too often.

Liam Enver-Marum – 7

Improved work-rate on display once more and unfortunate not to score, forcing Ross into two decent saves.

Chris Flood – 8

Scored the winner and did a tremendous job for the team in the second half, dropping into midfield.

Manny Williams – 6

Unable to get into the game. Didn’t always make the correct decision when he did get the ball.

SUBSTITUTES

Jamie Brown (for McAuley 54min) – 7

Did a pretty good job of shielding the back four, making some strong challenges.

Andrew Jenkinson (for Dunn 73min) – 6

Unable to have an impact on the game.

Robbie Rice (for Williams 85) – 6

Brought on to shore up the midfield.

Subs (not used): Macklin, Argent.

Whitehawk: Ross, Driver (sub Makofo 90min), Hills, Abdulla, Sankofa, Geohagan, Deering, Ijaha, Robinson, Kabba (sub Gargan 79min), Kissock. Subs (not used): Mills, Barnes-Homer, Monthe.

Attendance: 570