Following last weekend’s cup victory over Barnard Castle, The Huntsman aimed to carry their form into the league fixture at home to Bishop Bay Horse. Manager Neil Dodds made two changes, as Jonathan Arnold made his debut in goal and Captain Lee Redpath returned to midfield.
A good early tempo from the home side created plenty of chances, and it was Redpath who broke the deadlock with a header from point blank range.
The lead was doubled soon after, as a great individual run from Shaun Sproates found Redpath on the edge of the penalty area, and his superb left footed effort arced into the far corner to make it 2-0.
The away side seemed to gain some traction after that, however Reed Molloy’s constant pressure of the Bishop defence forced an error from their goalkeeper, and he was able to tap in for his 21st goal of the season.
Redpath then capped a memorable first half as Mike Sproates broke down the right hand side and found him in the penalty area. The keeper saved his initial effort, but he was able to tap in with his right foot from close range for a “perfect” hat trick to make it 4-0 at half time.
The Huntsman continued their dominance in the second half, and Mike Sproates was brought down in the box for a penalty. The resulting melee saw a Bay Horse player see a red card, and substitute Anth Harrison made no mistake converting the spot kick.
Harrison then grabbed his second of the game soon after with a neat finish in across goal with his left foot.
The scoring was then rounded off as Ste Williams broke from right back to find John Jamie Herd, who provided a calm finish to make it 7-0 and round off his man of the match performance.
Next up for the Huntsman is a top of the table clash away to fellow unbeaten side Coundon Durham Ox, where the winner will go top of the table. Come along to Leeholme Recreation Ground, Coundon to see what should be an entertaining affair 10.30 kick be off.