Cogenhoe United 1
Holbeach United 5
Andrew Tidswell notched a terrific treble as Holbeach United romped to a 5-1 win at Cogenhoe United in the ChromaSport UCL Premier Division on Saturday.
The player/assistant boss buried direct free kicks on 24 and 57 minutes, before rounding off his hat-trick with a goal in open play 20 minutes from time.
Forwards Jordan Thomas (46) and Josh Ford (81) also bagged to fire the Tigers 5-0 to the good, before a late penalty from Jack Bown (82) gave the Cooks a consolation.
The emphatic victory ends a run of poor performances from Tom Roberts’ side, who had only won twice in 2016 prior to the trip.
Compton Park has traditionally been an unhappy hunting ground for the Tigers over the years, with only one win in their previous 12 trips.
But Roberts, who once again played in goal with Ricky Drury unavailable, knew his side had a performance like this in them.
He said: “It was a very, very good win for us. To be honest, we could – and perhaps should – have won by even more than we did.
“To be fair, it was our best performance in a long while. We also had great strength-in-depth on the bench, so it all came together nicely for us.
“It was great to see the lads show exactly what they are capable of and really deliver.
“It was a total team effort from back to front, something we’ve not managed lately.
“We’ve put in some very disappointing performances in recent weeks – and I told that lads that I expected a big improvement.
“Before the match we knew that this was the start of a big week for us – and this was the perfect way to begin.
“Andrew’s goals were very good, especially the two free kicks. He’s managed to score a lot of goals from midfield this season – and they’ve been very valuable to us.”
With Spalding United’s game at Carlton Town called off, the Tigers were able to field Adam Jackson at left back.
Roberts admitted that he added “great balance” to his side – and is pleased to be able to call on him for Holbeach’s remaining midweek matches this season.
That should include Wednesday night’s UCL KO Cup quarter-final with Boston Town at Carter’s Park (7.45pm).
Tigers: Roberts, Worthington, A Jackson, Gale (Ford), Ward, Stevens, Thomas, Tidswell, Clitheroe (Coughlan), Smith (Eyett), Warfield.
