Rothwell Corinthians 0
Holbeach United 5
Boss Seb Hayes heaped praise on hat-trick hero Jack Smith as Holbeach United romped to a 5-0 victory at bogey side Rothwell Corinthians on Saturday.
Smith, who had struggled in front of goal in previous games this season, notched a second-half treble at Seargents Lawn to settle the Future Lions UCL Premier Division clash.
His strike partner Josh Ford had earlier given the Tigers a 1-0 half-time lead, before concluding the scoring with a last-gasp penalty that saw the home keeper sent off for a foul on Billy Smith and an angry reaction.
Hayes admitted that he expected a tougher test on the day, especially without the services of defensive trio Stacy Cartwright, Joe Braithwaite and Jamie Stevens.
He felt that his side could have won by an even bigger margin – but refused to get too carried away at seeing his side climb into the top five.
“I expected Rothwell to be physical, aggressive and workmanlike,” said the Holbeach boss. “But 5-0 didn’t flatter us – to be honest, we should have scored a few more.
“To be honest, they didn’t look like the side of old – we’ve always struggled against them.
“We got into them early and it worked, I felt like we dominated from the off. They had a bit of possession, but didn’t manage a shot on target.
“I was pleased with the performance, but even more so with the fact Jack Smith got a hat-trick.
“He’s been getting a bit of stick from a few boo boys, which has knocked him a little.
“I feel like he’s got all of the components to be a good player at UCL level, but he’s never had a good run at this level – a bit like Lewis Leckie last season.
“He’d been doing everything right, but the goals just weren’t coming. We’ve stood by him and, for me, his hat-trick was a very pleasing part of Saturday’s win.
“We all just need to give him time. His goals weren’t easy and were all impressive finishes.
“Both he and Josh Ford work very hard for us in attack and almost do too much. In the second half they stayed up the pitch and got the goals they deserved.
“Overall, it was a very good team performance. But I didn’t get carried away when we lost a few matches and I won’t after a good win.”
The Tigers in are League KO Cup action at Sleaford Town on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
Tigers: Drury, Harker (Whyatt), Tinkler, Clay, T Smith, Jackson, Barker (Avis), Bird (B Smith), J Smith, Ford.
