Ely City are exceeding expectation this season, according to boss Brady Stone.

The Robins have been in fine form of late and added wins in the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division and the Hinchingbrooke Cup this week.

If Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brantham Athletic was a gritty, backs-to-the-wall success, last night’s victory over Bourne Town was anything but, with Ely needing penalties needed to progress after it finished 4-4 after 90 minutes.

And boss Stone believes that those two contrasting performances show that his men are capable of a top-10 finish – a much more ambitious target than the one he set his players at the start of the campaign.

“I’d say we are exceeding expectations,” he said. “As a club we wanted to stay up at the start of the season but with the squad we have there’s no reason why we can’t finish in the top 10.

“We’re ninth at the moment so if we can put a run together then who knows – we might be able to push for the top five.

“It was good to get a win in the cup last night. The match was like a basketball game – we attacked, then they attacked.

“We were 2-0 up and missed a couple of chances and allowed them back into the game. It’s a long way to go on a Tuesday night but I’m pleased we got the win.

“On Saturday we were fantastic. We were brilliant from start to finish even though we were missing eight first-team players. We fully deserved the three points.”

Ely will look to add a third straight win on Saturday when they travel to the coast to take on Great Yarmouth Town (3pm).

Wellesley Recreation Ground hasn’t been the most successful hunting ground for Ely in recent years and Stone says his men will have to be at their best to bring the points back to East Cambridgeshire.

“Yarmouth is always a tough place to go. We have lost both times we’ve been there in recent seasons and we know it’s going to be another battle,” he said.

“But if we can play like we have been then I’m sure we can get a positive result.”