Holbeach United 3
Kempston Rovers 0
Joint boss John Chand reckons that the UCL Premier Division title race turned in Holbeach United’s favour on Saturday.
A Jake Duffy double (35 & 63) and a further strike from Jamie Clarke (39) eased the Tigers to all three points at Carter’s Park against a Kempston Rovers side that had won four on the bounce.
And, with table-topping AFC Rushden and Diamonds stunned 2-0 at struggling Oadby Town, Holbeach – who have won eight games in a row in all competitions – are now perfectly placed to win their second title in three years.
Diamonds did beat Harborough Town 3-0 on Tuesday night to move five points clear, but the Tigers have three games in hand.
The pair clash at Carter’s Park in the Tigers’ next league outing on January 24 (3pm) in what promises to be real cracker.
Diamonds do have another game before that showdown, but Chand feels his charges are on top in the championship chase for the first time in a while… and stirred the pot with a few traditional mind games.
“I think a few people had written us off a couple of weeks ago,” said the 2012/13 UCL title-winning boss. “Saturday’s results probably shifted things in our favour for the first time in a while.
“Mind you, the league are doing their best to keep Rushden and Diamonds top.
“Other than Yaxley, we’ve not had a midweek game for ages – while they seem to be able to to arrange games whenever they like. Take New Year’s Day, for example.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve been on the other side of that situation when we won the title and Spalding United had to play catch up. We’ve just got to keep this amazing run going and keep the pressure on.
“But there’s pressure on them, too. In my opinion, their fans are way too vocal on social media. I’ve seen them calling for (boss) Andy Peaks to go and all sorts.
“I think he’s doing a great job and is a top man. The fans are the club’s own worst enemy.”
It was another super show from the Tigers against Kempston, who are a side both Chand and co-boss Graham Drury both rate as top five hopefuls.
Midfield dynamo Duffy, who scored the only goal in last Wednesday’s vital victory over Yaxley, applied the finishing touches to a top Tigers move that involved Clarke and Stacy Cartwright to open the scoring ten minutes before the break.
The lead was doubled minutes later when Clarke turned in a Jonny Allen cross.
There was a suspicion that a Kempston defender got the last touch but Clarke, like any good striker, is claiming the goal.
Duffy then clinched the victory 20 minutes into the second period after a Matt Nolan cutback to make it a top day all round for the second-placed Tigers.
Chand added: “I thought we started very slowly and didn’t really stick to the game plan in the first 15 minutes.
“Once the lads started doing what we’d told them to, we totally bossed it.
“To be honest it was total domination from then on – and it’s fair to say we could have scored a few more.
“Kempston are a very good side and I expect to see them finish pretty high up the table come the end of the season. But we were just too strong and we’re very happy with the performance.”
Tigers: Conroy, Allen, Miller, Spencer, Cartwright, Nolan, Duffy (Steadman), Warfield, Clarke (King), Dube, Beeson (Parker). Not used: Pinner, Brown.
Att: 99
