MONMOUTH Town's third successive league win on Saturday saw them leapfrog Saturday's opponents Tranch into second place in the Gwent County Second Division.

The Kingfishers endured a poor spell of form over the Christmas and New Year period. But back-to-back wins over Race, Pentwynmawr and now Tranch have re-ignited Monmouth's promotion campaign, with the side scoring 15 goals in those last three games.

Speaking after the latest triumph, team manager Andrew Smith was understandably delighted with the way his side has bounced back so emphatically.

"This was by far the best we have played all season, against by far the best side we have played this year," he said.

Town got off to the worst possible start, conceding a penalty inside 30 seconds to gift their visitors the lead.

Shaine Dorrington came out to clear a hopeful long ball, only to miss it, while Jack Alderdice slid in to challenge the Tranch opportunist but gave away the spot kick.

Despite finding themselves 1-0 down so early on, the Kingfishers re-grouped and drew level after 25 minutes through Andrew Rogers before the game levelled out into a scrappy second quarter.

Smith noted: "It was a tight game in the first half. Maybe we just edged it on possession, but there weren't many chances for either side."

Ten minutes into the second half, however, Monmouth were in front for the first time with Simon Wookey netting his tenth of the season. The Kingfishers turned on the tap and the goals began to flow - with a Justin Harris header making it 3-1 and cousin Neville Harris adding the fourth with 20 minutes left.

Smith added: "It should have been a lot more by the end and we missed a few chances. But, encouragingly, in the last half an hour we were looking a lot fitter than them and, apart from the penalty and a chance with about ten minutes to go, they never really had a look-in."

The Kingfishers are back on the road this week, travelling to Rogerstone. The Newport outfit were promoted alongside Monmouth last term but have struggled to adapt to life in the Second Division and face dropping straight back down.

Yet Smith is cautious going into the game. "We tend to struggle against them," he said. "We beat them 2-1 earlier this season, but only after a late goal.

"They're a good side with pace up front and a proven goalscorer, so we won't be taking them lightly."