MANAGER Steve Cuss saluted his charges for a “thoroughly deserved” victory after Wimborne Town had played a leading role in Shock Saturday.

The Magpies forced their way back into the play-off picture by completing a famous double over in-form Marine as the top three all suffered surprise defeats.

George Webb, who netted in Wimborne’s 2-1 win over the Wiltshire outfit in September, gave the visitors a dream start when he opened the scoring after just two minutes.

Webb side-footed home from a Jamie Davidson cross before Micky Hubbard saw his penalty saved by Kent Kauppinen after Tom Jeffes had been felled.

However, Wimborne doubled their lead on 68 minutes when Aidan Sainsbury applied the finishing touch following a flowing move involving Webb and Davidson.

And although Josh Fowler halved the deficit for Marine with 10 minutes remaining, Magpies held on to become the first away team this season to claim maximum points at the Webbs Wood Stadium.

Cuss told the Daily Echo: “We knew it would be tough because Swindon Supermarine hadn’t lost at home all season and were unbeaten in 11 games. But we thoroughly deserved the win and it was an excellent performance.

“We were comfortable at 2-0 but had to defend deeply after they had pulled back a goal. We defended superbly and I was pleased with everybody.

“Tom Jeffes merits a special mention though because he was exceptional. He held up the ball well and his work-rate and commitment to the cause were fantastic.”

Victory leaves Wimborne in seventh place – level on 28 points with Clevedon and Cirencester – and eight points behind Tiverton who occupy the final play-off berth.

Cuss added: “With the top three all losing, it just shows that anybody can beat anybody in this league. It is all about striving for consistency and that is what we have got to do. Any team which puts together a run can force their way up the table.

“We have done well in certain games and then let ourselves down in others so it is about striking that balance. We still haven’t recorded back-to-back wins in the league so that has got to be a target as well.

“All our players have stepped up to the Southern League and we are learning a lot about it as we go. We are working hard to be consistent and to find a level of performance that means we can pick up positive results on a regular basis.

“We feel we have been competitive in every game but, unfortunately, we have struggled to find that little bit extra when it comes to playing the top teams. We did that against Swindon Supermarine and have now beaten them twice this season.”

Magpies: Ackerman, Arnold, Brian, Costello, Peprah-Annan, Blake, Sainsbury (Maybury, 89), Hubbard, Jeffes (Smith, 78), Davidson (Kemble, 78), Webb. Unused subs: Roast, Cole.