HISTON were bitten by Cirencester's deadly 'Snake' as the Centurions opened their first Premier Division campaign with a gritty 2-0 win at the Corinium Stadium.

Teenager Nick 'Snake' Stanley the latest product of the club's academy climbed off the bench to seal the historic victory with virtually his first touch after Shaun Wimble had settled the nerves with an early goal.

It was far from the vintage, free-flowing Ciren that secured promotion last season.

Brian Hughes' side 'won ugly' but in this case the result was all important and the end justified the means.

"Considering it was the opening day and there was so much hype and expectation about the game, to come out as winners is perfect," said Hughes.

"After the poor start we made last year, we tried to give ourselves a fighting chance with a steadier start this time.

"In the longer term it's not our style to sit on the fence we want to go for the jugular every week.

"But given the game we just wanted to set off and be solid. The result, on this occasion, was more important than the performance.

"I might have upset a few people doing it that way but what I wanted to do was get off to a decent start.

"You're always looking for your first three points and once you've got them you can settle down and relax.

"What I didn't want to be doing was going into the third week of the season still looking for a win."

The Centurions took just three minutes to open their account in the Southern League's top flight.

Paul Thompson's long clearance found Scott Griffin and he was hauled down 25 yards from the Histon goal.

Wimble stepped up to fire an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner.

Griffin then volleyed over but Ciren were not in total control despite the early goal and Histon's Colin Vowden saw a header narrowly miss the target.

The hosts should have doubled their advantage on 15 minutes when Michael Jackson released Adam Mayo.

The midfielder had a clear path to goal, but his strike was brilliantly parried by visiting keeper Paul Barber.

Histon's best chance came at the end of the first period as Wayne Goddard played in Ian Cambridge but his angled strike was brilliantly palmed away by Thompson and Neil Kennedy fired the rebound over the bar.

Thompson was called into action again early in the second half , saving well at the feet of Cambridge and then blocking Kennedy's effort.

But the tension at the Corinium Stadium abated when super-sub Stanley pounced on 67 minutes.

Griffin's surge forward was unceremoniously ended but referee Chris Dawes played a good advantage, allowing Wimble to square for 'Snake' to strike at the far post.

CIRENCESTER: Thompson, Arndale, Halliday, Mayo (Hemming 82) Jackson, Wotton, Robison, Wimble, Hopkins (Stanley 60) Griffin, Edwards (Davis 60)

Subs not used: Bird, Bevan.