A five-goal haul from Magpies hitman Ben Martin helped his side coast to an 8-0 shellacking of West Wallsend in the Northern NSW First Division on Saturday.
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The win at Johnston Park will help boost the Magpies ahead of their key rescheduled fixture at home to Valentine tomorrow night.
Murray Leyland was handed his first start of the season by Graham Law and he rewarded his coach’s faith with a powerful header from a corner to open the scoring.
From there, it was the Ben Martin show.
By half-time Martin had doubled his season tally of three, sealing a first-half hat-trick with a thunderous half-volley from the edge of the area.
He added two more in the second half and set up strike partner Roger Dowdell for another.
The game was iced late on when Luke Lawless, who Law indicated had been nervous on his long-awaited return from a knee injury, struck after less than a minute on the park to make it eight.
With Lawless putting the finishing touches on his comeback and Corey Fletcher returning from suspension, the Magpies coach said his side was virtually full strength.
“I’m really pleased with the depth that we’ve got going now,” he said.
“The one thing that the group have really picked up well is the shape – it’s never easy changing the formation of a team, but they’re all footballers, and they’ve done it well.
“It will be good to see how the shape holds against Valentine on Wednesday night, because that’s where it matters.”
The rescheduled round three match, to be played at Cooks Square Park from 7.45pm tomorrow night, will mark the start of a crucial 13-day run for the Magpies.
The next two Sundays will see top-four hopefuls Cessnock and Belmont-Swansea head to Cooks Square Park, and Law said his side would need to be up for all three matches.
“It’s a very interesting competition - if you don’t turn up, and think you’re just going to win the game, you’ll drop points,” he said.
“Every week is a cup final for us - if we turn up and win every week, we don’t need to rely on the results of other teams.”
Thornton snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win away to Singleton on Sunday to register their first points of the campaign.
In other Northern NSW First Division action from the weekend, Cessnock and Belmont-Swansea finished level at 2-2, while Valentine needed a late penalty to get past Toronto 2-1.
