Harrowby United 0
Holbeach United 7
Dominant Holbeach United bounced back from their FA Vase defeat in the best-possible manner with a 7-0 UCL Premier Division hammering of hosts Harrowby United on Tuesday night.
Unanswered goals from Craig Parker (15 & 35), Jake Duffy (29), Lee Dube (38) Stacy Cartwright (65), Matt Nolan (67) and Gary King (90) buried the memory of Saturday’s gut-wrenching extra-time loss to Erith and Belvedere.
The seven-up Tigers also close to within eight points of leaders AFC Rushden and Diamonds as a result, with three games in hand. The title hopefuls remain third after Yaxley saw off Deeping Rangers 2-0 – and joint boss Graham Drury was delighted with what he saw against a side he managed back at the start of his career.
He said: “We told the lads that we wanted to get back to winning games and defending well – and that’s exactly what we did.
“We’ve been conceding an awful lot of goals lately, so the clean sheet was really important for us.
“All credit to Harrowby, they never gave up. But it was a comfortable win for us if I’m honest. If we’d have carried on playing, I think there were more goals there for us.
“I thought it was a very dominant performance and it really highlighted the firepower we have at our disposal.
“It’s important that we put the Vase loss behind us and try to build up some momentum. This was the perfect way to get that going.”
Before the game, Holbeach confirmed that defender Kern Miller had been released. He follows Ollie Pinner out of the club, with the popular midfielder having re-joined former club Boston Town on Monday.
Drury was also coy on any interest in Spalding United striker Andrew Tidswell, who is currently on ‘gardening leave’ at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field.
“We’ve decided to let Kern go,” added Drury. “We’ve been operating at the top end of our budget and felt the time was right to make a change.
“Kern had a tough time of it against Cogenhoe and Erith. But I hope people remember his towering performance against Diamonds and the goal he scored to keep us in the Vase.
“Ollie moves with our blessing. He’s a top bloke and has been a good player for us, but he deserves more playing time.
“On Tidswell, I’ll not make any comment while he’s not our player. There has been no movement on that front this week.”
Holbeach are expected to name their strongest-possible side for Saturday’s UCL Knockout Cup tie against Division One outfit Olney Town on Saturday (3pm).
Drury wants the Tigers to regain their confidence and belief – and reckons that continuity is the best way forward.
The ex-Stamford supremo said: “We’ll be strong for Olney. At this stage of the season it is all about momentum, confidence and belief.
“You only get that through winning games, so we’ll not be taking it easy that’s for sure.”
Aidan Kirby, signed from Barwell last week, could make his home bow in the cup clash.
Tigers: Conroy, Anton, Brown, Cartwright, Gibson (Nolan), Beeson (King), Duffy (Kirby), Steadman, Parker, Dube, Clarke. Not used: Warfield.
