Ollie Maltby helped himself to a hat-trick as Moulton Harrox picked up their first ChromaSport PDFL Premier Division win of 2016 by seeing off South Holland rivals Holbeach United Reserves 3-1 on Saturday.
The in-form midfielder notched twice in the first 30 minutes at Broad Lane, only for an own goal from Bobby Patterson to haul a strong Holbeach side back into it before the break.
There was to be no comeback, though, with Maltby’s third capping a dominant display from table-topping Harrox, who remain three points clear at the summit with a game in hand.
Moulton chief Dave Panton paid tribute to the performance his side delivered – but reserved special praise for match-winner Maltby.
“We started fantastically, something we didn’t do last week in the cup,” enthused Panton. “I thought we rectified that brilliantly.
“Being a derby match, all of the players were eager for this fixture. We all wanted to do the double over Holbeach, which is always a great feeling.
“Ollie has been superb since coming to Moulton, he teams up with all of the players and gives 100 per cent every week.
“He’s having a great season and I hope he continues to do so.
“Playing Holbeach is never easy as they are always very aggressive and physical, but all of the players adapt to whoever we play and impose our strengths within the game.
“When the only real threat comes from our own defender I couldn’t complain about our defence at all. It was a great performance. We showed great attitude and move onto the next week.”
With Holbeach’s first team game being off, they were able to draft in UCL Premier Division regulars Matt Warfield, Stacy Cartwright and Dan Dougill.
But Moulton weren’t intimidated by their presence and always looked the best bet for three points.
They broke the deadlock when the returning Lee Bradbury headed a ball through for Maltby, who ran clear and made no mistake.
Ben Allen’s pace was again a threat down the right wing – and he set up number two by pulling the ball back for Maltby to notch on the 30-minute mark.
However, it was soon 2-1 when Patterson diverted a Holbeach corner into his own net with a bullet header, giving Lee Kenealy no chance.
Moulton showed their class after the interval, though, dominating the game from the restart. It was no real surprise when sub Guy Mantle turned his man inside out and teed up Maltby for his hat-trick goal.
There was still time for Allen to see a superb lob ruled out for a somewhat dubious offside call, but it mattered little to Moulton at the full time whistle.
Harrox: Kenealy, Groves, Johnson, Patterson, Coddington, Clay (Watkin), King, Townsend, Allen (Mantle), Bradbury (Wheeler), Maltby.
Sat: Holbeach Res v Langtoft; Moulton v Leverington (both 2pm).
