After a dry but cold week, Prime's Cadogan surface was declared playable - allowing The Numbers to play their first match at their home ground for 6 weeks.

The home side were keen to put last week's abysmal performance behind them and several changes were made to the starting XI.

Sykes replaced the absent Balcombe in goal with Goldsmith and Sander replacing Cary and Buckland in defence. Flamank and Walker returned to midfield and Ferguson joined Barker up front as Prime switched back to a 4-4-2 formation. Cary, Buckland and Goulding made up the bench - with the assistant manager set to reclaim his position as Prime's oldest ever player now in his 41st year.

The game started with light sleet falling and Prime were quickly pressing their opponents back with Henshall to the fore in the opening exchanges. He was turning his full-back inside out but the final ball just failed to find strikers Barker or Ferguson. The closest Prime came to breaking through was when a Henshall cut-back fell to Flamank who mis-hit his shot on the volley and then Ferguson narrowly failed to stab home at the far post.

Defensively Prime were much more assured with Goldsmith and Williams commanding in the air and both full-backs enjoying plenty of possession with Mazurkiewicz in particular seeing plenty of the ball in the first half.

Walker and Abu were linking up well in central midfield and Walker mis-hit a shot against the post before his shot from the edge of the box stung the hands of the rotund Roselands keeper on 20 minutes.

Prime came even closer on the half-hour mark when Barker found a yard of space and the ball came to Ferguson whose snap-shot was well saved by the keeper.

It was a much more even end to the half with Roselands threatening from a series of long throws but Sykes remained in control in the Prime goal and Roselands failed to create any clear-cut chances.

At the end of the half Prime themselves applied some pressure with a couple of trademark Goldsmith long throws but they held firm and it was goalless at the interval.

It was clear that patience was the key to Prime claiming the 3 points but they were hopeful of an early goal after the break. It came from an unlikely source.

Abu slipped the ball into the box where Walker drilled a left-footed shot into the corner of the net to give Prime a deserved breakthrough. It was no more than the midfielder had deserved after a fine first-half display.

Roselands' attempts to get back into the game were still being blunted by Prime's solid back 4, but the home side were forced into an offensive change jut 10 minutes into the half when Flamank tweaked a groin while crossing from the left. It meant that the evergreen Goulding made his first appearance since September and his first since turning 40 down the left-wing.

On the hour mark, following a piece of Rolls-Royce defending by Goldsmith, the gaffer took himself off, allowing Cary to return alongside Williams at the back. One of Cary's first contributions was to blast the ball into Williams' face from point-blank range!

Roselands' back four was continuing the frustrate Prime with Barker and Ferguson well shackled by a much-improved defence.

Prime sealed the points with 10 minutes to go when Ferguson rolled his marker and then played a 1-2 with Barker before slotting the ball past the advancing keeper - a fine finish on a bobbly pitch and it was his first goal since early January.

Buckland replaced the striker almost immediately as Prime sought to play out the closing stages.

Things nearly got very interesting when firstly Sykes had to make a superb save at full stretch to tip a 25-yard drive over the bar, and then a minute later, another well-struck drive from distance hit the bar with Sykes this time well beaten.

At the other end Buckland and Barker both went close to adding a third, but the full-time whistle went soon after and for Prime it was a deserved 3 points.

Prime were still far from their best, but all 14 players put in a committed performance that earned the deserved win. Roselands have improved greatly since the sides met before Xmas and it would not be a surprise to see them pick up some more points before the season ends.