YEOVIL Town Ladies ended Swindon Town's unbeaten home record to go five points clear at the top of the South West Combination Women's League.

Laura Bray's strike midway through the first half was all that separated the two teams as the Glovers combated an uneven pitch and long ball tactics to prevail in Wiltshire.

Sarah Lawler's and Nigel Williams' team are now comfortably ahead of nearest rivals Havant and Waterlooville, who have five games left this season in comparison to Yeovil's six.

Lawler said: "We just need to keep our feet on the ground. There were some nervous performances against Swindon but we showed yet again we can fight a battle as well as play decent football.

"Nigel and I will continue to challenge the 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."

Despite the Robins' tricky surface making passing difficult, Yeovil stuck to their usual flowing style and were rewarded with their goal after 24 minutes when Bray made the most of impressive forward play.

With Swindon bringing a direct approach to proceedings, the visitors' defence came under plenty of aerial pressure, the best of which saw both keeper Rachel Simkin and the target beaten.

A tactical change gave Yeovil a greater foothold in the game after the break, Rosie Williams returning to defence after injury, allowing Terri Trowbridge an attacking remit on the right wing.

As they continued to chase the game while lacking invention going forward, Swindon introduced another attacker. However, Glovers' substitutes Sarah Roxburgh and Leah Jennings combined with resolute defensive play to keep out their hosts.

Williams 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. 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, trying to get in behind our defence, but we held out, kept another clean sheet and swept up most phases of play."