Mark Danks scores five goals as Northwich Victoria thrash minnows Bardon Hill Sports (From Northwich Guardian)

Mark Danks scores five goals as Northwich Victoria thrash minnows Bardon Hill Sports

8:31pm Saturday 26th September 2009 in

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NORTHWICH Victoria gave Bardon Hill Sports a thrashing – and a reality check – as they made their FA Cup bow.

The East Midlands Counties League minnows, on their first foray into the country’s premier cup competition, lost at the fourth time of asking.

They will not want to see Mark Danks again any time soon. He scored five of Vics’ eight goals.

“So he should with the number of shots he has in a match,” quipped Northwich manager Andy Preece at full time.

“Seriously though, they couldn’t handle him.”

Bardon, who confessed beforehand this was the biggest match in their history, got stage fright.

Danks turned torturer-in-chief.

His dribble into the penalty area on 10 minutes was ended by Sam Surridge’s desperate tackle, the former Worcester City front man scoring with ease from the spot.

The visitors got a glimpse of goal soon afterwards but Paul O’Callaghan, off balance, sliced horribly wide after ghosting onto Jake Duffy’s clever pass.

Danks made them pay.

He steered in Vics’ second with a smart shot after Declan Edwards had skipped away from Joe Manning and his subsequent cross was allowed to travel across the face of goal.

Bardon manager Kev Ward had been brave – or reckless – to send out his team with three forwards. Vics made hay in the space left behind.

Lee Elam should have scored when he sprinted clear onto Jon D’Laryea’s sweeping pass, but keeper Arron Harris smothered his shot after racing off his line.

Danks turned provider on 33 minutes, skipping into space left by Manning’s enforced exit through injury, before teeing up Simon Grand to shoot Vics’ third.

Duffy, stationed next to a post, then cleared off the line when Mat Bailey met Elam’s corner with a powerful header.

The Bardon midfielder, easily their best player, then split Vics’ defence with another cunning assist to put Liam Hebberd through on goal.

He brushed aside Mike Aspin only to be denied by Curtis Aspden’s brilliant one-handed save low to his left.

Edwards, willing but wayward, blasted over when Aspin’s shot had deflected into his path, then placed a better chance off target with the goal at his mercy.

The pattern did not change after half time.

Wayne Riley, drafted in after Jonny Allan injured himself in the warm up, volleyed Vics’ fourth goal after Bardon made a mess of clearing a free kick.

Danks, desperate for a third, skied Grand’s flick too high on 59 minutes.

He made no mistake four minutes later, drilling in from the edge of the box with a shot Harris did not bother trying to save.

Debutant Jonny Evans, just 16, almost capped his cameo as a substitute with a goal when he was denied by the visitors’ custodian.

Grand doubled his tally for the match – and the season – on 75 minutes when he nodded in from on the goalline after sub Nat Kerr had diverted Riley’s centre back across goal.

Danks thumped in his fourth goal two minutes from time after cutting inside a defender, then lobbed a fine fifth after Grand had spotted his run behind Bardon’s battered defence.

Preece had told his men to watch out for the banana skin. They side-stepped it with a goal-laden swagger.

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Vics Aspden (GK), Aspin, Bailey (Kerr 53), Grand, Ryan Brown, D’Laryea, Herring (Vaughan 46), Riley, Danks, Edwards, Elam (Evans 64)
Sub not used Newby
Goal Danks 10 (penalty), 18, 62, 87, 90 Grand 33, 75 Riley 49
Booked Danks (deliberate handball)

Bardon Hill Harris (GK), Surridge (Moult 76), Manning (Wilson 34), Griffiths, Hawker, Partner, Duffy, Hart-Harper, Hebberd, Garner (Robinson 64), O’Callaghan
Subs not used Ward, Piper, Wozencroft, Blythe

Referee Jason Tyas (West Yorkshire)
Attendance 502