Newportt Pagnell Town 1
Holbeach United 3
John Chand saluted a job well done as Holbeach United enjoyed a relatively comfortable UCL Premier Division win at a notoriously tricky venue on Saturday.
Jamie Clarke (41), Danny Spencer (69) and Gary King (89) grabbed the goals for the title-chasing Tigers at Newport Pagnell, as they passed a tough test of their credentials with flying colours.
Although Dom Lawless pulled one back for the hosts nine minutes from time, co-Holbeach boss Chand reckons that his charges were always comfortable at Willen Road.
He said: “It was a very good performance – and if I’m honest it was more comfortable for us than 3-1 would suggest.
“At 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go we had a stonewall penalty decision turned down and missed a couple of one-on-ones. They pulled one back, but I was never really too worried.
“It’s always a very difficult place to go – and with the weather not being great it made it even harder.
“Mark my words, some of the other title-chasing teams will come here and struggle.
“It was also nice to see Danny Spencer score from a corner. It was funny, we only mentioned at half time that we should be doing better from set pieces.”
After a goalless opening 40 minutes, the Tigers broke the deadlock through the ever-dependable Clarke.
The experienced striker got on the end of a fine cross from strike partner Lee Dube to nod home just before the half time break.
It was no more than the Tigers deserved – and set them up perfectly for a strong second period.
Having gone close to scoring from a host of corners in recent weeks, skipper Spencer finally made one count in the 69th minute as he buried a dominant header.
From then on the Tigers always looked comfortable, but spurned a number of fine chances to wrap up the win.
There was a whiff of a Pagnell comeback when the prolific Lawless fired home with just under ten minutes to play. But Holbeach mean business this season – and sealed an 11th league win from 14 games when King raced clear to slot home number three bang on time to keep them hot on AFC Rushden and Diamond’s heels.
Holbeach visit title rivals Yaxley tonight (Tuesday, 7.45pm).
Tigers: Conroy, Allen, Parker, Spencer, Cartwright, Duffy, King, Beeson, Dube (Preston), Clarke (Brown), Adjei. Not used: Steadman.
Attendance: 81
