Garner is spot on as Diss Town beat Haverhill

Diss built upon their excellent display from the previous week with a second successive win and a third successive clean sheet against Haverhill which lifted the Tangerines up two places in the Ridgeons League Premier Division .

They are now seven points ahead of Walsham-le-Willows, from the same number of games, and five points ahead of Saturday's visitors to Brewers Green Lane, Wivenhoe Town, who have played two games more.

Diss manager Rob Taylor was forced into making one change as leading scorer James Pipe was away for the weekend. Andy Moody took his place but he had to be replaced at half-time due to an eye injury after a clash of heads had halted his progress in the early stages of the game. Taylor felt that this was 'a scrappy game in which we put in a fine battling performance and defended so well that Matty Webster hardly have a save to make'.

The first half chance of the game fell to Diss in the 9th minute when Brendan Foley played a deep pass over the top of the defence for Andy Moody to run on to and slide his shot from outside the corner of the penalty area past goalkeeper Aarron Benstead, who had rushed out of his area, but just past the post. In the next attack Joel Brien was just high with a shot from 30 yards out.

The only on target shot that Haverhill could muster came in the 32nd minute when Matty Webster dived low to his left to smother a 25 yard shot from Jack Higgs. Diss replied with a deft flick on from Stuart Jopling releasing Jamie Speller to have a shot blocked.

The first of two penalty decisions came in the 36th minute when Webster dived at the ball wide of his goal and on the goal line. Joe Harvey went down and a penalty was awarded. After a delay of more than two minutes for treatment to Harvey, defender Stuart Wardley stepped up and smashed his shot against the bar. He was penalised as he played the rebound before any other player had touched the ball.

In the 58th minute Diss were awarded a penalty when Wardley held Jopling as he went for a header to a centre from the left. The referee waved away appeals, but after consultation with his assistant, who had signalled that there was a foul, a penalty was awarded and Wardley's afternoon became even worse as he was sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity. There was a further delay for protests and a caution before Stuart Garner kept his cool to move forward and score the only goal of the game – his fifth penalty of the season in the seven goals that he has scored.

Despite being a man short Haverhill pressed, in vain, for an equaliser and even pushed Benstead forward at a free kick in added time.

Diss: Matty Webster, Jason Cole, Stuart Garner, Aarron Taylor, Brendan Foley, Mark Shadrack, Joel Brien, Jamie Speller, Stuart Jopling, Andy Moody, Michael Steward.

Subs: Danny Easlea (for Brien 63 mins), George Watts-Sturrock (for Moody at half time), Gareth Leggett, Sam Bryant and George Cole (for Jopling 88 mins).

Attendance: 105.

Match Sponsor: Mr J Tidnam and Mr K Ridgeway.

Match Sponsor's Man of the Match: Jason Cole – another battling display in which he had a chance to show his versatility when he was pushed into an attacking role in the second half.