The festive cheer continued in Long Eaton as fans were able to celebrate a hat-trick of their own – an unbeaten month, a win over second placed Belper Town and the day itself.

Having taken the match ball home last week against Corby Town, Garnett bagged another hat-trick whilst Thompson-Matthews also celebrated scoring two goals in two games.

Our win moves us up to ninth, only three points off of a play-off spot.

The game started positively for us as we dominated the opening exchanges with good possession.

Garnett found the net in the 15th minute as a strike on the edge of the box found the bottom left corner.

We continued to dominate the tempo of the game until the 35th minute. Gianluca Bucci hit the deck after a high foot.

After the restart, Belper Town’s Kevin Bastos equalised for his side. He received the ball on the right side of the box and got a shot away on his left foot. Thanks to a lucky deflection, the ball nestled into the left inside netting leaving King helpless.

We almost had our lead restored as Garnett had an effort from range saved well by Kieran Preston.

Three minutes into the second half, our visitors were down to 10 men. William Fankwe received a second yellow card after a late challenge on James Taylor.

The first 25 minutes of the second half saw the Blues control large spells of the ball and attempt to break down Belper’s backline.

However, the hard work paid off as we restored our lead in the 70th minute. Dexter Walter’s fancy feet allowed Thompson-Matthews to overlap the winger. Walters played the ball and Thompson-Matthews first time cross found Garnett at the back post. Our no.9 scored his 19th goal in all competitions.

With six minutes of regular time left, we scored our third. Cieron Keane played a beautiful ball through to Thompson-Matthews, who complimented the pass with a perfect finesse shot into the bottom right corner.

In the 88th, Thompson-Matthews was brought down in the box. Garnett stepped up and dispatched it coolly into the bottom left corner securing his hat-trick.

Our next game is against league leaders Carlton Town on January 3.

Match Report: Damion Arnold
Match Photos: Richard Gadsby