Sports Match Report

Clayton crush Village Tavern to move back on track for the title.
Joseph Malby grabbed his first ever hat-trick in blue and black colours to help give AFC Clayton a comfortable 5-1 victory away at to the Village Tavern.
The win saw Clayton move up to third place and ended their poor run of form which saw them take only two points from a maximum of 15.Whilst the Tavern are not far behind in fifth place, with four points less.
It was the home side who should have perhaps taken the lead, when midfielder David Bartle crashed a shot against the bar, which caused some controversy as a number of Tavern players felt that the ball had crossed the line but the linesman and referee ruled to play on.
This gave the visitors a wake up call to increase the tempo. Malby opened the scoring when he ran on to a through ball and coolly guided the ball into the top right hand corner, giving the goalkeeper David Miles very little chance of stopping it.
Tavern were given an opportunity to equalise when the referee awarded striker James Minor a penalty after he was fouled in the box, however the number nine hit the post and the chance was gone.
That miss proved costly as a few minutes later Malby grabbed his second to double the lead. Ben Davies later added a third with a spectacular shot from 25 yards out.
Village Tavern gained a consolation goal when Minor got another chance from the spot after he was pulled down in the box. This time he made no mistake as he hit it hard into the top corner.
However there was little time of a comeback when Bartle handled the ball on the line and Malby gladly converted the penalty to complete his hat-trick.
The game was put beyond Tavern when substitute Lee Wilshaw came on and struck an incredible left foot shot from distance.
AFC Clayton manager Ian Sumnall was delighted with the display and with how well Malby took his goals, he said, “I'm proud of my players, they have put in a fantastic team performance and thoroughly deserved the three points. In previous games I have played Joe as a defender but I think today he has proved he has the ability to attack the opposition and he finished his chances well.”


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