ST ANDREWS 0
HOLBEACH UTD 4
Will Bird returned to form with a bang as his timely treble helped Holbeach United end their two-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory at St Andrews on Saturday.
After back-to-back defeats against Cogenhoe United and Desborough Town all but ended the Tigers’ ChromaSport UCL Premier Division title challenge, this showing at Canal Street proved they are still hungry to finish as high as they can.
Bird’s brilliant hat-trick took his total for the season to 19, while Mitch Griffiths also got in on the act to make it a pleasing afternoon for boss Seb Hayes.
The Holbeach chief admitted that the game really shouldn’t have gone ahead on a pitch that appeared to be waterlogged, but he heaped praise on his side – reserving the highest praise for Bird.
“It was a very good performance,” admitted Hayes. “We did the things we’ve not wanted to do in recent weeks.
“The lads got stuck in and dealt with the opposition getting in their faces.
“I think St Andrews looked at our form and fancied their chances against us on what was a terrible pitch.
“It should have been off, but that backfired on them and by half-time they were calling for the game to be abandoned.
“We scored four, but if we’d finished better I reckon we could have had eight.
“In the end, it was a very convincing win for us and I have to be happy with four goals and a clean sheet in those conditions.
“As for Will Bird, he’s been much more confident since coming off the bench against Cogenhoe last week.
“He was dropped for his own good, as he’d got stuck in a rut. It looked like he had the world on his shoulders and his confidence had gone.
“We’ve built him back up and he’s now playing like he does in training. He showed a real calmness with his finishing and it was great to see him relaxed out there.
“I also felt that Lewis Leckie played well in attack without getting the goal he deserved.
“We’ve fallen short in recent weeks, but we hung in the title race up until mid-March, which I think is a good effort from the lads.
“If we can play like we did on Saturday for the rest of the season, we’ll have every chance of finishing as high as we possibly can in the table.
“I’ll keep saying it, but top five was always the aim and we’re still on-target for that.
“With the cup final also on the horizon, the players know that they need to perform if they want to keep their shirt for that one.”
Holbeach handed a debut to midfielder Tom Curtis in the win in Leicestershire. He joined from Peterborough Northern Star before last week’s transfer deadline.
Hayes had hoped to sign him in the summer, but moved quickly after being impressed by his recent showing against the Tigers.
The Tigers boss added: “I’d just like to thank PNS for waiving the need for a seven-day approach. We’re very thankful for that and delighted to get Tom signed.”
Tigers: Drury, Harker, Cartwright, Braithwaite, N Jackson, Curtis (Sanders), A Jackson, Griffiths, Leckie, Bird (Zuerner), Barker (Avis).
