MANAGER Chris Cornes insists that football is "all about momentum" and that his side can ill-afford to take their foot off the gas in their search for ultimate success this season. 

City won for a sixth game in a row in all competitions on Tuesday night when they beat Calne Town 4-0 in the Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup.

Other than the FA Cup, City remain in all cup competitions and sit top of the Hellenic League Premier by three points with two games in hand on nearest rivals Corsham Town and have still only suffered two defeats in all competitions in the 2023/24 season.

Cornes' side are flying but nothing is won in October and the boss knows that maintaining the winning run is imperative, regardless of the competition. 

"Football is about momentum and at times, in cup games like this (Tuesday night in the Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup) you can take your foot off the gas, but you can't afford to do that," said Cornes at full-time.

"If you break that momentum and lose then it can take weeks to get back and by that time, you can lose ground at the top of the league so these games are great games to be involved in but more importantly great to win."

Playing a side a league below, Tuesday was supposed to be a routine victory for City but it turned out to be anything but.

The 4-0 score line was slightly harsh on the hosts, who put Worcester under significant pressure in during various spells in the game and it was not until the final five minutes that City put the game to bed. 

But goals from Jamie Insall and Lorcan Sheehan in the first-half and late strikes from Lockett and youngster James Batchelor saw them progress to round two of the Floodlit Cup. 

"Credit to Calne," added Cornes. "They had us on the ropes at times, especially early on and they came to play tonight and tried to get the ball down and cause us problems, so fair play to them.

"They probably gave us a harder game than some teams in our league have this season so it was a great workout for the lads.

"A lot of us travelled an hour and a half, an hour and 40 minutes to be here, some of them over two hours.

"We’ve also left a few at home. It was a workman-like performance and frantic at times.

"But it’s four goals, a clean sheet and if someone had said we would win without playing brilliantly but no injuries, minutes into the legs of a few, I’d have taken that."

Cornes was also keen to point out youngsters James Batchelor and Reece Day for particular praise following their impressive cameos off the bench:  "At the minute they (Batchelor and Day) are both at Littleton getting some minutes with Adam Parker.

"But we always wanted to get them back for cup games and it’s brilliant for us to be able to give them that time in this team, getting them to play the way we want to play.

"In training, they have been getting better and better and tonight (Tuesday) they were brilliant.

"Recce has a bit of snap and bite about him and James (Batchelor) slotted into that 10 position really well and it was great to see him get his goal, he has been waiting a long time for that.

"It's great to be able for those two to play alongside the more experienced players."