WHAT HAPPENED
An Eddie Nketiah hat-trick and a sublime Reiss Nelson goal saw us extend our unbeaten run to six games in all competitions and move to within a point of PL2 leaders Liverpool.
Having scored 15 goals in our previous four fixtures, we came into this match at Meadow Park full of confidence, and it did not take us long to break the deadlock.
With just 12 minutes gone, a corner was whipped in from the right and Nketiah reacted first, only to see his effort blocked by some desperate defending from the visitors.
But Xavier Amaechi showed real composure to pounce on the loose ball, and lay it back into the path of Joe Willock, whose shot deflected off Nketiah and bounced into the far corner of the net.
While that strike may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing, the second, from Nelson, certainly was.
Once again Willock was at the heart of the action, driving forward from midfield and slipping a perfectly-weighted ball behind the Everton defence for Nelson to run on to.
There was still a lot to do as Mateusz Hewelt raced out to close the angle but Nelson simply rolled his foot over the ball to take it past the goalkeeper and slotted it into the empty net.
We continued to press and probe after the interval, and Nketiah bagged his second with a cool finish after being found in the area just after the hour mark.
The striker has proven himself a goal machine throughout his nascent career, and he was not about to be denied his hat-trick - and he completed the feat as he slotted in his third with 77 minutes on the clock after a fine bit of interplay with Emile Smith Rowe.
It was a fine way to end another impressive evening’s work for Nketiah and his team-mates, who are now breathing down the necks of leaders Liverpool.
WHAT IT MEANS
The win moves us into second place in the table, one point behind leaders Liverpool with six games remaining of the campaign.
PL2 table - Feb 2017
WHAT’S NEXT
We travel to PL2 title rivals Leicester City on Monday, February 19 for a game that could have a big say in our bid to top the table.
Last time we met the Foxes, back in September, we secured a narrow victory courtesy of a Darnell Johnson own goal in the closing stages.
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