Bradley Wells helped himself to a hat-trick as the Tulips completed their regular fixtures in Evo-Stik NPL First Division South with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Northwich Victoria at the Sir Halley Stewart Field on Saturday.
Although scoring three goals the Tulips’ leading goal-getter this season could so easily have doubled his tally and in doing so he missed the jackpot – the league’s Golden Boot award – finishing just one strike behind Gavin Allott of league champions Shaw Lane who topped the chart with 26 goals. Wells has hit the target 29 times in all competition for the Tulips.
Wells started the scoring early on, adding the finishing touch to a fine three-man passing sequence with a neat close range finish on 10 minutes.
Although already doomed to relegation, Northwich were under pressure for much of the game but to their credit worked hard and had their moments in front of goal. Matty Shaw forced a save at the foot of a post from Michael Duggan and Favour Imade posed a few problems with some speedy left side runs.
But it was the Tulips who were pulling the strings. Wells was inches away from making contact with Leon Mettam’s low cross over the area. The hitman then powered in an angled shot, giving goalkeeper Dylan Forth no chance, but the ‘goal’ was disallowed for offside.
The Tulips were not to be denied a second goal thoughand it arrived in the 20th minute. Connor Higginson lifted the ball over an advancing Northwich back line and Wells nipped through, beating the offside trap this time and holding off some desperate challenges to chip the ball over keeper Forth.
In the following ten minutes Wells had two more opportunities to add to his tally with the visitors’ defence fully stretched. But Northwich finished the half strongly with both Shaw and Imade bringing Duggan into the action.
However, it was the Tulips who created the lion’s share of the scoring chances in the second half. Goalkeeper Shaw pulled off a great reflex save as Nathan Stainfield powered in a header from Nathan Whitehead’s cross. Substitute Whitehead did get the ball over the line from a Wells assist, but he was deemed offside.
Paul Walker joined in the act to force another excellent save from Forth before Wells completed his hat-trick six minutes from time with a simple tap-in from Higginson’s threaded pass into the goal area.
Northwich continued to battle to the bitter end and gained a consolation goal from the lively Yaw Gyimah on 86 minutes.
Tulips: Michael Duggan, Paul Walker (Jordan Heeley 87 mins), Adam Jackson, Neal Spafford, Nathan Stainfield, Kern Miller, Connor Higginson, Sam Downey, Bradley Wells, Leon Mettam (Nathan Whitehead 63 mins), Jordan Lemon (Lee Beeson 63 mins). Subs (not used): Cenk Acar, Jake Scampion.
Match sponsors Tulips Social Club man-of-the-match: Connor Higginson.
