A SECOND-HALF hat-trick from Brad Lynch earned Northwich Victoria a 4-0 winning start to the new North West Counties League Premier Division season at Prestwich Heys.

His first effort 34 seconds after the interval handed Vics a 2-0 lead, thanks to Matty Birchall having put Steve Wilkes' side in front after four minutes.

Lynch's further goals in the 66th and 83rd minutes ensured a happy away day for the Trickies.

"The good thing for me is that we scored some goals that we'd worked on in training," said Wilkes, who was made up with the performance of Josh Winder.

"Josh has underperformed in pre-season but he put a performance in today and I thought he was our best player," he said.

"For the third goal it would have been easy for him to shoot but he put the left-back on his backside and just rolled it across for Brad to do what Brad does best."

Vics will play their first home game on Wednesday when Avro, 3-0 victors over Padiham, visit Wincham Park.