Owen Betts continued his excellent patch of form with a brace as he scored a header from close range in the first half, and a spectacular strike in the second.

Evan Garnett returned to the starting line up for the first time since his injury, and it only took him seven minutes to get on the scoresheet.

James Shaw followed up with a third on the half-hour mark with a strike into the bottom left corner from range.

Andrew Wright scored the fourth for the Blues in the 55th minute after picking up the ball on the edge of the box and letting one loose. That is his first goal since August 17, where he scored two against Boston Town.

Brad Munn made two changes to the side that beat Darlaston Town 2-0 last Saturday.

Lewis King remained in the sticks with an unchanged back line sitting in front of him.

Betts and Ryan Campbell-Gordon occupied the full back positions, and Jayden Cotterill and Gianluca Bucci as the centre backs.

Connor Pace and Wright were accompanied in midfield by Shaw.

Liam Loughlan and James Taylor took up their usual positions as the wingers with Garnett returning to fill his role as the team’s striker.

Callum Cocks returned to the bench following his suspension and was sat alongside Tristan Thompson Matthews, Omotolani Omotola, Jamie Hanson, and Dexter Walters.

The game started positively for the Blues as Garnett scored in the seventh minute. A Loughlan corner was whipped in and not cleared properly, the ball fell to Garnett just yards away from the goal line and he tapped it into the empty net.

The hosts gave it their best go to react quickly as King was forced to make a double save. Initially saving Finn Flanagan’s 1v1, and then Jahvan Davidson-Miller’s follow-up attempt seconds later.

In the tenth minute, Rugby came close again as Tyreace Brown hit the cross bar with his header.

In the 22nd minute, we scored our second goal. Just like the first, a poorly cleared header from a corner fell to Bucci at the back post, who booted it across goal hitting Betts’ head and bouncing in.

We came close to a third in the 26th minute as Taylor broke away with the ball and had an effort from range falling agonisingly wide of the post.

Shaw carried on his good spell of scoring as he added our third of the game in the 30th minute. Campbell-Gordon won the ball back in our half and drove with it. A smart ball to Shaw allowed him to cut in and unleash a strike that found the bottom left corner.

Having gone 3-0 up within 30 minutes, three points looked like ours, but Rugby were not letting us off that easily as they found their way back into the game with a goal in the 34th minute from Lucas Stanley. A good run in behind and a cheeky flick over King, and the game was 3-1.

Just two minutes later, the hosts had a penalty. Trey Charles stepped up to take it and only just beat King, who guessed the right way but could not get to it fully.

After half-time, we made a strong start as we dominated the ball and looked to restore our two-goal cushion.

And we done just that in the 55th minute as our skipper stepped up. Like our first two, a ball into the box from a corner was poorly cleared and Wright managed to win the ball on the edge of the box and hit it through the crowd of bodies. It trickled into the goal with the goalkeeper getting a hand to it but not enough.

Cocks was subbed on in the 66th minute for Pace and he made an instant impact as his free-kick strike was cleared of the line just two minutes later.

In the 85th minute, magic happened. A loose ball was controlled by Betts and almost instantly struck in the air from far out. The strike looped over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net marking our fifth goal of the game, Betts’ second goal of the game, and all three points for us.

Just three minutes later, Betts had the chance for a hat trick. A ball over the top from Wright was taken down well by Betts, he made his way into the box and had a go at goal. The goalkeeper bested him as he saved the shot and denied Betts a hat trick.

This win means that we stay third place four points behind Corby Town and three points ahead of Worcester City.

Our next match is at home against Racing Club Warwick on April 5.

ROLL ON SATURDAY!!!

Match Report: Damion Arnold
Match Photos: Damion Arnold
Match Highlights: Hridyam Arora