Hereford Lads Club 6 Darlaston Town 0

A 15 minute hat trick by Tom Harding condemned Darlaston to their heaviest defeat in 3 seasons at Champions elect Hereford LC.

The early stages were evenly contested and Darlaston had a superb opportunity to take the lead in 12 minutes. firstly Tangeni "Tish" Ngishidimbwa superbly turned his marker to break into the box to unleash a vicious 15 yard save which was parried by keeper Steve Bell. The ball rebounded to Sam Melia who looked sure to score from 5 yards but again Bell came to the rescue again by blocking Melia's effort with his outstretched leg.

Hereford responded immediately and the visitors paid dearly for their missed chance as the home side broke with pace and the Division's top scorer Dan Herbert netted his 22nd goal of the season drilling home a 12 yard effort beyond keeper Aaron Morris.

Despite the setback Darlaston settled and whilst the home side showed their class,pace and quality the visitors also created problems for the home defence with "Tish" impressing and forcing Bell into another smart save in the 22nd minute. Rory Worthing and Tom Harding impressed for the home side with Harding's pace causing havoc down the left flank.

The pressure was mounting on the Darlaston defence and they were made to pay for two defensive lapses in the 37th minute and on the stroke of half time when Harding put the home side firmly in control with his 20th and 21st league goals of the season.

Sam Baxter replaced the injured "Tish" at half time and any hope of a spirited fightback was extinguished in the 50th minute when Darlaston were reduced to 10 men when Sam Giles was sent off for his second bookable offence.

Harding joined Herbert at the top of the Division's goal scoring charts just 2 minutes later netting his 22nd goal of the season from an acute angle which beat Morris at the near post.

Hereford were now in complete control and Darlaston were limited to two half chances both falling to Melia who found Liam Jones and Thomas Dawson too strong at the heart of the home defence. Substitute Shaun Prince netted the 5th goal on 67 minutes as he burst into the penalty area unopposed to easily beat Morris from 10 yards. The rout was completed in the 75th minute when a stray pass by Luke Harpin was pounced upon by Dawson who lobbed Morris from 20 yards.