Winslow United 1 Royston Town 5 STRIKER Craig Hammond scored his fifth hat-trick in nine games as Royston Town saw off South Midland Division One basement side Winslow United. It was another emphatic victory for The Crows, overcoming a difficult playing

Winslow United 1 Royston Town 5

STRIKER Craig Hammond scored his fifth hat-trick in nine games as Royston Town saw off South Midland Division One basement side Winslow United.

It was another emphatic victory for The Crows, overcoming a difficult playing surface and an over physical opposition, with their bid for promotion now firmly on track.

Paul Attfield's team have now gone 13 games unbeaten, and Hammond set them on the road after just seven minutes of play with a clever lofted finish.

And winger, Luke Robins almost made it 2-0 after 23 minutes when he broke free but sent his shot inches wide.

Robins then had a clear penalty claim turned turn when he was upended in the Winslow box, before Hammond and Ashley Townsend also sent efforts wide of the target in a busy opening period.

After dominating the majority of the first half, Royston's impressive defensive record came to an end after just 20 seconds of the re-start when a Winslow striker beat Royston debutant Luke Howard with an angled drive into the far left corner.

However, The Crows soon hit the hosts with a double blow in the 52nd and 53rd minutes, with Townsend grabbing his first for the club with a fantastic 25-yard lob and Tom Malins adding a third 90 seconds later with an equally impressive strike.

The goals seemed to knock the wind out of the home side's sail, and within minutes Royston were turning the screw once more with Hammond crashing one shot against the crossbar.

However, the powerful number nine was on hand moments later when he reacted quickest to some defensive hesitancy to fire home a fierce angled strike in the 66th minute, before added his third nine minutes later with another confident finish.

Manager Paul Attfield said: "This was a very tough game for us and with the score at 1-1 we really had to dig deep. The playing surface wasn't the best and I honestly can't remember a worse surface for a number of years, and as a result we had to be a little more direct.

"However, our superior fitness levels really took over in the last 30 minutes and we showed a strong character.