Wealdstone 4 Staines Town 3

Wealdstone showed they can mix it with the best teams in the Ryman Premier after producing a performance which left boss Gordon Bartlett feeling like he was walking on air.

First half goals from Graeme Montgomery, on-loan striker Gavin James and makeshift hit-man James Gray put the hosts in the box seat at a freezing Grosvenor Vale before Ryan Ashe's early second half goal sent the majority of the 280 fans into dreamland.

However, Staines mounted a stirring comeback, exploting Stones' weakness at set-pieces, but were unable to find an equaliser, much to Bartlett's relief.

After the game the manager admitted he could not feel his toes due to the surprising cold snap that hit large parts of the country.

"The conditions were horrendous and my toes arrived back to me at 10.30pm," he said. "At one point Carl Martin was hugging the teapot - that is how cold it was."

Whether the adverse weather conditions contributed to the Stones' energized dis-play is debatable but they certainly warmed up the sparse crowd with some electric football.

"It took a long time to break them down but even when we were 3-0 at half time I watned the lads that the game was far from over," added Bartlett. "We seemed to disillusion them and when we got the fourth goal I thought that would be enough. As it turned out, it was just enough."

Back-to-back league wins, plus an FA Trophy triumph, have put the Stones in buoyant mood ahead of Saturday's FA Trophy clash with Tiverton Town and Bartlett hopes that consistency continues.

"We've won three on the spin now and this game is the sort of one we would have lost a few months ago. The character and commitment of the lads was fantastic and we could have scored one or two more."

Stones lost striker Stephen Hughes to injury and drafted in skipper and centre half James Gray with Darren Locke coming in to the side from the reserves where he has been in impressive form.

Montgomery, a target for several Football League clubs in the past few months, was on top form and he fired the Stones ahead after 21 minutes after James had threaded him through.

James then won a penalty after being hauled down by Swans keeper Louis Wells, and scored at the second attempt after Wells had done well to block his initial kick.

Stones were running riot and after Wells pulled off a smart save to deny Ryan Ashe there was little he could do to prevet Gray from slamming home the third goal after a defensive error.

Two minutes into the second half the Stones players and fans were singing in the snow as Ashe's free-kick flew into the net. Staines, with just one previous league defeat this season, finally woke from their slumber and started to use the conditions to their advantage.

Darren Locke clumsily brought down a Swans forward only minutes later and Dave Sargent stepped up to blast the spot kick past Luke Woods. Sargent converted a second penalty after Alan Massey was guilty of making a rash challenge before Elliot Onochie's sublime free-kick reduced the gap to 4-3.

With 20 minutes to go Bartlett threw on Ben Clarke and David Hicks and the double change gave his side an outlet for balls into space, enabling Clarke to use his pace.

Nick Salapatas also entered the fray to help batten down the hatches and Stones battled bravely through four minutes of added time to claim a fantastic victory.

Wealdstone: Woods, Martin, Chappell, Locke, Massey, Ashe, Forbes, O'Leary, James, Gray, Montgomery.