Harpenden Town’s James Ewington took a massive stride towards being named the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division top goalscorer after bagging five in their huge 9-0 win away to Stotfold.
It takes him up to 41 for the season in all competitions, 33 of them in the league, and moves him five clear of his big rival, Welwyn Garden City’s Jon Clements.
And it is a sign of just how good a season he has been having that that this haul is not his highest of the year, that is still the six he notched in Harpenden’s 7-3 win over Wembley in January.
This success was built on an amazing first half.
Ewington got things going on four minutes before Sam James and Dwayne Duncan made it 3-0.
The Harps’ hotshot then hit three in nine minutes, making it five Harpenden goals in 18 minutes, as they went into the break 6-0 ahead.
And beleaguered Stotfold, who remain rock bottom of the table, conceded another goal two minutes after the restart.
This one came from Ceykan Karagozlu, who had only come off the substitute’s bench during the interval.
But the Roker Park hosts did manage to stem the tide somewhat as Harpenden added only two more goals.
First James and then Ewington added to their tallies to keep Town in fourth place in the league.
But once Saturday was done it was time to turn their attention to silverware, with a Dudley Latham Memorial Premier Division Cup final against WGC tonight (Wednesday) at Colney Heath’s Recreation Ground.
The two sides had met in a fiery affair eight days earlier that had ended 1-1.
It was a match that was marred by two yellow cards for Ewington but manager Danny Plumb was still happy with his side and looking forward to the final.
He said: “I was really pleased again. We had some out injured and were playing against a side going into a higher division, I think we matched them.
“It’ll be a tough game, we know that.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here