COLCHESTER 7

CROSTYX II 1

East Men's League division three

ELI Hazelman scored a hat-trick as Colchester thrashed Crostyx II to remain second in the division three table.

Ben Parker netted twice and Wayne Masters and Hugh Pearce were also on target, at the Garrison.

Colchester led 4-0 at half-time before going on to score three further times in the second half, to wrap up victory.

Colchester captain Simon Pearson-Burton said: "I felt we were pretty dominant from the offset, immediately creating chances and causing their back line problems.

"It was no push over and we had to absorb plenty of pressure from them, we were just more clinical in possession especially when it came to goalscoring opportunities.

"I was happy that even at 4-0 we didn’t get complacent and try to score champagne goals by skinning the entire team before attempting back stick wonder shots.

"We kept to the basics of simple accurate passing and created overloads that resulted in good team goals.

"It’s always nice to win convincingly and in such a tight league goal difference could be a deciding factor at the end of the season."

Hazelman stood out in Colchester's victory with his hat-trick but Joe Sheppard was man of the match.

Pearson-Burton said: "There were a few standout performances in particular Eli Hazelman, who nearly tore the goal apart with one of his shots.

"But the man of the match award went to Joe Sheppard who went about his business in the midfield quietly creating the magic and allowing others to put the finishing touches on."

Colchester travel to play mid-table Saffron Walden III this weekend, looking to keep the pressure on leaders Chelmsford II.

Pearson-Burton added: "We prepare for every game expecting it to be tough - the moment you don’t and allow complacency to set in you stand a very good chance of losing.

"Saffron Walden are a good team and have had some decent results, so I expect it to be a good game.

"We’re not really that concerned with Chelmsford’s results, you can only play the team in front of you on the day.

"We’ll look to put the pressure on them when we meet them on the pitch again after the Christmas break.