Flint Town manager Lee Fowler is grateful he has unearthed a hat-trick hero just when he needed one.
Zack Clarke scored a hat-trick on his debut for the club after his loan move from Chester to ensure Flint finished Phase 1 of the JD Cymru Premier League with a flourish.
Clarke’s treble helped Flint to thump Pontypridd United 4-1 on a weekend where three matches in the league were called off due to frozen pitches.
The two teams will now clash twice more in the Play-Off Conference, with Ponty hoping to hang onto their top-flight status in their first season in the division.
Their cause wasn’t helped with relegation rivals Aberystwyth Town winning 2-1 at home against Caernarfon Town.
Thankful for Clarke’s heroics, Flint boss Fowler insisted:
“Our ambition is to win the bottom six.
“You can get into the play-offs, you can be in the middle fodder, or you can be relegated.
“But each outcome still demands the same – hard work. With respect to Airbus, they are down, but the other five clubs are battling to stay up.
“I don’t want us to be looking over our shoulders.”
Flint boss Fowler
Two goals in three minutes in the first half sent Flint into a lead they never lost as they earned their first victory since 23 December to end a run of five games without a win.
It also earned them a league double over Pontypridd.
Clarke got the opener and then Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro added a quickfire second.
The second half was then dominated by teenage talent Clarke as he went on to notch a hat-trick in his first senior game for the club, with Joe Evans grabbing a consolation score for the visitors.
And Flint was the word on everyone’s lips at Aberystwyth, too. In this case it was Nial Flint who scored the club’s second goal in their 2-1 win over the Cofis.
Harry Arinson had fired Aber in front before Flint made it 2-0 in the 77th minute, scoring from a free kick after Joe Faux had been red carded for the visitors.
Rhys Alun Williams did score a spectacular consolation goal on 89 minutes but Anthony Williams’ men were good value for their win.
The Black and Greens are two points ahead of Pontypridd, and two behind Flint Town, while Caernarfon Town still lead the bottom six group.
Third-place Cardiff Met made it a clean sweep of home wins as they backed up their 2-0 triumph in north Wales the week before with a 3-1 victory over Airbus UK Broughton.
Harry Owen gave the students a first half lead and then Eliot Evans notched his sixth league goal of the campaign.
Adam Davies cut the gap with a goal just before the hour mark, but Chris Craven guaranteed the points for the home side with a third for the Archers.
It took the university to a total of 41 points from 22 matches – a new club record at the halfway stage of the season.
Cardiff Met deputy dean of their School of Sport, Huw Wiltshire said: “Congratulations to all players, coaches and management.”
Haverfordwest County v Connah’s Quay Nomads, Penybont v Newtown, and The New Saints v Bala were all postponed due to the weather.
