Matlock Town avoided a fifth successive defeat by hammering Basford United 5-0 at Greenwich Avenue on Tuesday night to move into the Third Round of the Integro League Cup.
A hat-trick from Jordan Sinnott plus goals from Chib Chilaka and Tomas Poole gave the Gladiators the win in what was arguably Matlock’s best performance of the season so far.
The Gladiators had a lightning start from the blocks when they took the lead after only five minutes when Jordan Sinnott’s long range effort took a huge deflection which wrong-footed Kieran Preston and the ball sailed into the net.
The Integro League Cup isn’t really considered to be the most prestigious of cup competitions but it was clear right from the off that Matlock were absolutely desperate to end their losing streak. They seemed far more up for the game than Basford and, for once, were clinical in front of goal and dominated the full 90 minutes.
Matlock battered Basford in the first half. They almost doubled their lead immediately after Sinnott’s opener when Sam Scrivens’s long range shot was only just tipped over the bar by Kieran Preston. In the 14th minute, Spencer Harris found space in the area to meet a corner from the left wing but his header sailed over the bar.
The pressure kept coming and Matlock were rewarded with a second goal in the 24th minute. Jordan Sinnott, rich in confidence after that opening goal, smashed in another long range effort from around 25 yards and the ball cannoned off the underside of the bar and over the line. There was no deflection to help this time around as it was an absolutely superb strike and easily one of Matlock’s best goals of the season so far.
The away side added a third shortly before half time when Chib Chilaka finished superbly from 20-yards out and this was a just reward for the work rate and persistence he displayed in the opening 45 minutes.
Any worry that the Gladiators would sit back and invite trouble in the second half were dispelled almost immediately. James Tague came extremely close to scoring his first ever goal for the club in the 52nd minute when his effort from just outside the area was impressively tipped around the post by Kieran Preston. Just two minutes later, Spencer Harris met another corner but his header from ten yards out flashed over the bar when he really should have got it on target.
Basford could not cope with the continuous pressure of Matlock’s attacking and ended up conceding a fourth goal in the 63rd minute. A free kick was awarded from 18-yards out after Piteu Crouz was tripped. Jordan Sinnott stepped up confidently to take the set piece and he rocketed the ball into the net leaving Preston without a chance of getting close to the ball. That marked Sinnott’s hat-trick and took his goal tally to seven for this season.
The cherry on the top came just five minutes later in the 69th minute when the excellent Tomas Poole (playing out of position as a right-back) went on an excellent run, dribbled past four Basford players and finished smartly past Preston from 12-yards to give the Gladiators their fifth of the night and to put the result beyond doubt.
The game petered out after Poole’s goal as Basford knew the game was over and Matlock were keen not to risk any further injuries. The referee blew the full time whistle bang on the 90th minute and this booked Matlock Town’s place in the Third Round of the Integro League Cup.
Matlock Town: Stewart, Poole, Gordon, Rea (Dean 25), Harris, Yates (c), Scrivens, Sinnott (Marshall 75), Chilaka (Hinsley 65), Tague, Crouz.
Unused Substitute: Morris.
Attendance: 165
Steve Kittrick Quotes
On the match performance:
“We spoke about it on Saturday, about pushing on after that performance and that’s just proved a point. We have got it in our locker…Basford’s got a good squad here, they played a strong side like we did, but we deserved it, we played really well and we enjoyed ourselves, you can we played with a smile on the face like we did earlier on this season so long may that continue…we’ve got to take what we’ve seen tonight, take that commitment, the know-how, endeavour and everything you want from a football team and put that into Saturday’s game to get three points and get further up this league.”
On Jordan Sinnott:
“He’s a quality player, he doesn’t sometimes do the ugly side of it very well but he scored three goals tonight and they were quality. His quality came to the top tonight but he’s still got to learn about the other side of it. Fair play to him, he worked hard today, he just tweaked his groin, so we’ve got to be careful with that but I’m pleased for the kid because he’s a good footballer, you’ve got to remember where he’s played…he just needs to learn the ugly side of it but he worked hard tonight to prove a point…he told me on Saturday that I’m not the first manager that’s said he’s got to work hard off the ball and get closer to people, but I’m pleased for him.”
On James Tague:
“He proved a point. He’s been asking me to play him in there and he’s got his wish and I think he’s done tremendous. Passed it, kept it, went forward, got a shot in, helped defensively. He’s a young kid and hopefully he’ll get better and better.”
On the next game away at Scarborough Athletic:
“It’s massive because we’ve got to take the form we’ve had from Saturday and tonight and put that into this coming Saturday. That’s what we’ve got to do and if we’re going to be serious about clawing our way back onto where we should be, and after tonight’s performance you can see the quality that we’ve got, we can have a look at getting back to these play-off positions and that is doable but we’ve got to work hard and we’ve got to get on with it and it’d be a nice place to start that at my old club.”