Crookham Rovers U23 produced a devastating display on home soil as they swept aside second-placed Albury Eagles with an emphatic 8-1 league victory.
Rovers made the perfect start, racing into a two-goal lead inside the opening minutes. Zach Hansell opened the scoring early on before Ben Scarborough quickly doubled the advantage to put the hosts firmly in control by the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Crookham continuing to dominate proceedings. Khalid Dabiri extended the lead soon after the restart, and Hansell struck again shortly after to put the result beyond doubt.
Harry Barber added a fifth as the pressure continued to mount, before Hansell completed an excellent hat-trick to make it six. Although Albury Eagles managed a brief consolation from distance, Crookham responded in style, with Kyle Duffin and Luke Gorton both finding the net late on to cap a ruthless performance.
Manager Andrew Barber said: “We set the tone early and the lads never let the intensity drop. To score eight against a team sitting second in the league shows the quality and belief in this squad. It’s important we stay grounded, but performances like that should give everyone confidence for what’s ahead.”
Hat-trick hero Zach Hansell added: “It was one of those days where everything seemed to come off. The team were brilliant all over the pitch, and I was just happy to be on the end of a few chances. We’ve been building towards a performance like this, so it’s nice to see it all click.”
The two sides will meet again next month in the semi-final of the Mike Smith Memorial Cup, where Crookham will take plenty of confidence from this result.