SHRIVENHAM surpassed their 2012/13 points total in the Hellenic League Premier Division with a commanding 7-1 thrashing of fellow strugglers Abingdon Town at Barrington Park.

Under the stewardship of Michael McNally, Les Gill and Mark Stevens, Shrivvy managed just 12 points last season as they finished second-bottom in the standings.

However, new boss Dave Turner and assistant Stevens have already bettered that effort and although Shrivvy are by no means away from danger, Saturday’s win will have given them a huge boost.

“We’ve only just started November and we’ve already beaten last year’s total,” said Turner.

“That’s the reality of what we’ve taken on here and you have got to be realistic about what you can achieve.

“I’m just pleased for the players because they have stuck at it and their attitude has been spot-on.”

Midfielder Dave Coleman gave Shrivvy the lead in the opening minutes, an advantage they held until moments into the second half when Joe Parker dinked home an equaliser.

However, with the slope in their favour, the hosts began to assert their authority and a hat-trick from Steve Robertson, a brace from fellow striker Josh Fowler and a solitary effort from Matty Bown saw Shrivvy storm to success.

It was their first win in the league since September 3 and their biggest margin of victory all season.

“First half I thought we edged it and at half-time I spent 15 minutes saying we’ve got to be professional and keep it tight, but within minutes of kick-off it was 1-1, so they obviously didn’t listen and did their own thing,” joked Turner.

“But in all seriousness they showed great character because it would have been easy to let their heads drop at that point.

“Once we got over the shock of the equaliser we played some really good football and scored some very well-worked goals.

“We thoroughly deserved it and it was nice to score a few goals which will do our confidence the world of good.

“The plan at the start of the season was to pick up three points between the tough games and that’s what we did today.

“The most important thing was to beat a team that were down there with us and the win keeps us in touch with the teams in front, which is important as you don’t want to be cut adrift.”

Abingdon Town’s official Twitter feed stated last night that Gavin Jones had resigned as boss for ‘various reasons’, although the tweet was later deleted.

Shrivvy are next in action in the second round of the Floodlit Cup at Cheltenham on Wednesday, with Turner poised to give a number of his fringe players minutes on the pitch.