Swindon Supermarine's remarkable revival reached new heights yesterday when John Murphy's battling troops climbed from the foot of the Western Division table for the first time.
Marine's brilliant 1-0 derby win at Cirencester, coupled with Racing Club Warwick's 1-0 defeat at Atherstone meant the two strugglers swapped league positions and Warwick now occupy the single relegation place.
The pair are now level on points, but Marine have a superior goal difference and a crucial game in hand.
The win at Ciren capped a miraculous turn-around for the Hunts Copse club.
Few gave them any chance of prolonging their debut season in the Dr Martens League after only three points were collected from their first 15 games.
But a fine recent run under Murphy means that Marine's destiny is now in their own hands.
The Swindon boss said: "The result was absolutely crucial to us.
"We're very pleased with the application of the players, they worked really hard.
"We were committed and strong and the desire to get out of trouble was clearly evident.
"Now for the first time, we are masters of our own destiny."
The win at Ciren was a real defensive triumph.
Murphy kept faith with the battling line-up that bludgeoned Stourport on Saturday to such good effect.
And they did the business again.
Steve Bennett scored the decisive goal after just three minutes.
Full-back Dominic Dunton played Bennett through, and the midfielder hit an angled drive beyond the dive of Kevin Sawyer.
After that it was backs to the wall.
Ciren piled on the pressure, and Marine keeper Liam Bull produced heroics to keep the hosts at bay.
In particular, reflex stops from Nathan Holt, Chris Bass and one in the last minute from Ashley Read were absolutely top drawer.
The Marine rearguard deserve their share of plaudits too.
Nick Beaverstock, Lea James, Adie Roper and Andy Jennings were all superb and suffocated Ciren's creative flow.
Chippenham Town edged closer to a place in the Dr Martens Premier Division with a nerve-wracking 1-0 win at new-look Hardenhuish Park.
Some 842 fans crammed into the newly erected stands to witness the Bluebirds edge out a plucky Gloucester City side.
For long spells, it looked like Town would have to settle for a disastrous point following a fruitless trip to Mangotsfield on Saturday.
But substitute James Bent hit a 78th-minute winner to bring the house down. Mark Harrington jinked past three Gloucester challenges before crossing to Bent, and the striker's half-volley nestled into the far corner.
Until that point, it looked as though lady luck had deserted Town.
Shane Andrews, Gareth Davies - playing after resolving an argument with Saunders and John Woods had all gone close.
Star striker Steve Tweddle even fluffed a 70th-minute spot kick, but Bent came to the rescue, maintaining Town's seven-point advantage over fellow promotion hopefuls Weston.
Both Screwfix Western League derbies went with form.
In the Premier Division, Devizes registered their ninth successive win, beating Melksham 3-0.
Andy Coombs and Simon Price gave Devizes a 2-0 half-time lead. Top scorer Barry Flippance grabbed the third 15 minutes from time.
In Division One, Corsham piled on the agony for relegation-threatened Calne with a 2-1 victory at Southbank.
Veteran John Freegard fired Corsham into a first-half lead, before Mark Strickland gave Calne a lifeline moments after the break.
But Freegard struck again with a headed winner late on.
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