Daventry Town came through with flying colours at Outgang Road on Saturday when facing their first big test at Premier Division level against a Deeping Rangers side which had not conceded a single goal in three previous league matches this season.
Not only did the Town pick up all three points but they scored no less than five times with in-form striker Danny Nelson (pictured) notching up a hat-trick inside 50 minutes to take his seasonal tally to five in the first four games.
After the fir
st fortnight of the new UCL season only S and L Corby, 4-3 winners over St Neots at the weekend, still boast a 100 per cent record with Daventry in second place on ten points and Long Buckby one behind on nine.
Town boss Martyn Walker and his assistant Lee McBain were both adamant that this performance eclipsed the team’s 3-0 UCL KO Cup semi-finals success at Market Deeping back in March.
Few would argue after Nelson opened the scoring for the visitors with a deft chip in the fifth minute following the first of many pinpoint passes from man-of-the-match Danny Finlay.
Slack marking from a corner allowed the 2006 UCL champions to equalise through a headed goal from Ashley Stevens on the half hour but the Town went into the interval with a 3-1 lead which could easily have been double that margin.
In the 36th minute the lead was restored by unmarked full-back John Cullen who headed home a Ryan Byrne corner before Finlay put through Nelson again for goal number three.
Daventry goalkeeper Joe Mellings brought off a fine save from Rangers striker Sam Bettinson soon after the restart but Nelson quickly completed a superb hat-trick when providing the clinical finishing touches to a defence-splitting pass from Byrne.
The excellent Finlay lasted 75 minutes in a pulsating game which saw both teams use all three substitutes before Rangers hit back late on with a second goal from Stevens.
Even then the Town were not finished as a long ball from the accomplished Tom James enabled substitute Tommy Waldock to race away for a well-taken fifth goal.
Walker’s men travel to Stamford on Saturday to take on Blackstones before next Tuesday’s UCL KO Cup derby with Daventry United at the Royal Oak.
Finlay will be Barcelona- bound by then but leading scorer Tom Berwick will be a more than adequate replacement on completing his four-match suspension.
The full article contains 426 words and appears in Daventry Express newspaper.
