The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Holbeach United 4
Leicester Nirvana 0
Jack Smith made it back-to-back Future Lions UCL Premier Division hat-tricks for Holbeach United as they thrashed Leicester Nirvana 4-0 on Saturday.
The in-form striker rifled the Tigers ahead with a 25-yard stunner on 32 minutes at Carter’s Park, before adding a second from the penalty spot in the final minute of the first half.
Smith’s hat-trick goal then arrived on 50 minutes when he netted from a goalmouth scramble following a corner – meaning his treble came in just 18 minutes.
The visitors, who have endured a tough start to the season, let their anger boil over and had Jhaden Harper sent off for striking out at Adam Jackson.
Tempers flared after that, but there was still time for Josh Ford to round off the scoring in the final minute after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Holbeach boss Seb Hayes felt that 4-0 perhaps flattered his side, with Nirvana gobbling up plenty of possession.
But he was pleased with the workrate of his Tigers and praised their ruthless finishing, as they made it three wins on the spin in all competitions.
Hayes said: “To be fair to Nirvana, they outplayed us for long periods.
“That was a bit disappointing, if I’m honest. But, we stuck to our job and outworked them for the entire game.
“That’s something I’ve always demanded from the team, so that was very pleasing.
“Nirvana created plenty of chances, but most of them were from outside of the box and (keeper) Ricky Drury saved them pretty comfortably.
“I think we were just very clinical. Jack Smith was a bit tired after playing the best part of an hour up front by himself at Sleaford, where he ran himself into the ground.
“He didn’t actually play quite as well as he had been doing for that reason, but he took his goals superbly.
“His first was a screamer from distance and he showed great composure from the penalty spot.
“It was a convincing win for us in the end a something of a stepping stone in the right direction for us.
“My concern was that we got dragged into a few silly moments at the end of the game, which left a bad taste for me.
“We can’t afford to have players getting booked and sent off, that sort of thing cost us dear last season.
“I was angry about that after the final whistle – and some of the lads weren’t happy about that.
“It’s great that they are bullish and look after each other. But we need to be smarter.
“Look at the Sleaford game last week. We had Josh Ford sent off – and we now lose him for three games, including a big one in the FA Vase. He’s our top scorer and we’ll miss him.”
Tigers: Drury, Drury, Harker (Whyatt), T Smith, Clay, Braithwaite, Tinkler, Jackson, Barker (Tricks), Bird (Ford), B Smith, J Smith. Not used: Kirk.
Attendance: 106.
