Our youth team returned to the top of the H-K-L North Midlands' League table, following a superb 6-0 victory at Heanor Town tonight.
Striker Ross Lamb (pictured) bagged a first-half brace, before strikes by Trovarn Thompson, Dan Fletcher, Charlie Brownlie and Billy Simpson completed the rout.
The win, which maintains our youngsters' 100% record so far this term, will also be remembered due to a bizarre pitch invasion from a furry animal.
Our side raced into an early advantage when Conor Green's fifth-minute free-kick was spilled by Kyle Housman, allowing Lamb to convert at point-blank range.
Nevertheless, the hosts began to settle and almost equalised when Jack Dring's bullet free-kick forced Stags shot-stopper Jordan Fell into a smart save.
The hosts continued to enjoy their fair share of possession, but proceedings were temporarily halted in bizarre circumstances on 33 minutes.
A stray cat appeared from nowhere, and spent a few moments giving instructions from the technical area, before showing excellent pace in a mazy run onto the pitch.
The furry intruder was ordered to leave the field immediately by the referee, but discussions proved unsuccessful as the animal remained still.
However, a member of the Heanor coaching staff pounced and eventually escorted the animal away – much to the amusement of the watching crowd.
The Stags sharpened their claws prior to the interval, and doubled their lead when Simpson’s sublime cross-field pass found Lamb, who duly slotted home.
With their tails up, our young guns showed plenty of composure to effectively seal maximum points within a few minutes of the re-start.
Thompson made it 3-0 when he unleashed a superbly cushioned attempt from inside the area, which beat a full-stretch John Foster at right-hand post.
Moments later, a fabulous through ball by Keiran Coupe released an advancing Fletcher, who slotted beyond the keeper at an acute angle.
With a quarter-of-an-hour remaining, Brownlie converted from Green’s pinpoint corner to make it 5-0, before Simpson added a sixth with a brilliant 20-yard volley in the closing exchanges.
Team: Fell, Susso, Hempshall, Brownlie, Coupe, Lamb, Simpson, Spencer (c), Green, Fletcher, Thompson (L.Thomas).
