So on a warm still night City serve up a cracker of a game running out handsome 4-2 winners over a giant Salisbury City side in front of an approving 2903 at the Park. City lined up: Marriott; Friend, Edwards, Taylor, Richardson; Moxey, Cozic, Gill, Elam; Stansfield, Logan.
Surprising changes from Saturday's confidence boosting win over Grays in both formation and personnel, but boy did it work. Reverting to a more familiar 4-4-2 formation, it was City who made the early headway, although it has to be said without troubling the Salisbury keeper. That is until the eighth minute when Gill intercepted a pass in the middle then delivered the most delicious defence splitting pass to Stansfield overlapping on the right. He in turn crossed to Deano at the far post, who, after making a bit of a hash of it, doinked it to Logan on the edge of the six yard box with his back to goal. In one swift movement he teed himself up, swivelled, and smashed home despite close defensive attention to put City 1-0 up in front of a delirious Big Bank.
On the quarter hour Deano made a much better fist of it charging down the left. He cut in, stopped, shaped to shoot and blasted righteously across goal only to see the keeper make a superb save deflecting the ball away to safety.
After 25 minutes he was at it again, cleverly intercepting a loose pass before charging off down the left again. He struck a wonderful cross into Logan who first time side-footed with power at the Salisbury goal from ten yards. The keeper go a hand to it but somehow it squirmed under his body and for all the world looked to be City's second before a panic stricken keeper managed to grasp the ball on the line just as it was about to go over.
Just after the half hour mark disaster struck when Salisbury had the ball on the left touchline just inside City's half. It has to be said it was a wonderfully flighted ball into the box, where giant striker Robbie Matthews was steaming into the box, ahead, I think, of Edwards, to plant a firm header back across goal from ten yards to level the scores at 1-1.
With five minutes to go Logan showed great awareness picking up a loose ball just inside the Salisbury half when spotting the keeper wandering out to the edge of the box curled a majestic looping chip high over his head and unfortunately narrowly over the bar onto the roof of the net. City got even closer a couple of minutes later when Logan showed great skill in finding Deano through a gaggle of players out on the left. Deano stormed into the box before crashing a huge drive onto the post and back beyond everyone, then a minute later sublime skill from Elam almost produced a carbon copy of the Salisbury goal except this time it was a defender who won the ball and not an attacker.
But a second City goal just had to come as the boys finished the half in storming fashion. A lightning quick throw deep into Salisbury territory on the left found Deano with space to drive into the box riding tackles left and right. His shot was deflected and looped up to Logan lurking at the far post and he was left with the easiest task of nodding in his second from a few inches out to make it 2-1 City in the final action of a frenetic first half.
The second half couldn't come quickly enough, and City carried on as they'd finished the first adding a third goal with a mere five minutes on the watch. Once again Deano was involved swinging in a tantalising cross from a corner that Matt Taylor rose magnificently to at the near post to glance home with authority and make it 3-1.
City were rampant and almost immediately added a fourth, this time Logan playing a cute through ball round the corner for Elam to chase, but sadly the finish didn't match the build up with Elam firing meekly at the keeper. Stansfield began the next attack ten minutes later, breaking out of defence at lightning speed. He pushed the ball through for Logan to take on, but his stride pattern was all out of sync and the opportunity was quickly snuffed out.
But on 25 minutes another arose and this time City took full advantage. Stansfield broke down the left, and under heavy defensive pressure delivered the most outrageous back heel to Deano patrolling the area between touchline and penalty area. He turned and strode into the box before slamming the ball across the six yard line to the waiting Logan to gleefully tap home into an empty net for a thoroughly deserved hat trick and a 4-1 scoreline to City.
But Salisbury weren't there to just roll over, and with just over a quarter of an hour to go gave City the jitters by pulling one back through a smart drive under Marriott from the edge of the box from Liam Feeney to make it 4-2.
A minute later Carlisle was introduced at the expense of Elam, and ten minutes later City nearly let Salisbury in when confusion reigned in the City box as the ball was hooked past Marriott and heading for goal before Matt Taylor's spectacular goal line clearance saved even more panic. After that Logan, to tumultuous applause, made way for Mackie, then with less than five minutes to go Mackie almost had the chance of an instant impact, but saw his low drive from an excellent Deano through ball smothered by the alert Salisbury keeper.
With less than two minutes remaining, it was City, prophetically, who conjured up the final chance of the game. Stansfield broke down the left and squared to Gill stationed just outside the area. His screaming 20 yard fizzer was only parried by a shocked keeper, and in acres of space Wayno hooked wide of an open goal from six yards. His blushes were saved, however, by a raised linesman's flag for offside.
But what an absolute stormer from City. Four goals and it could have been double that. Bar Taylor's hook off the line Salisbury scored from their only meaningful attacks of the game. The rest of it was the City - and Deano - show. In goal Marriott was, by and large, a passenger today. Maybe he was caught out of position for the Taylor clearance, but there was little he could have done about either goal, the first one especially.
Maybe the defence could have though, especially in letting a man in front to head home like that. However, for the most part they coped well with Salisbury's considerable aerial presence, with Friend and Taylor looking particularly masterful.
In midfield Gill and Cozic stifled well, with Gill getting better as the game wore on. Bertie didn't quite have the impact he had on Saturday, but nevertheless he was full of running and still keen to get forward right at the death. On the right Elam showed some deft touches and at times mesmeric ball control, but it was on the other flank that the real genius was on display. Dean Moxey today was quite simply awesome from first whistle to last, and was involved in everything good about today's win. He had a big hand in all four goals, and had things fallen a little kinder could have helped himself to a couple as well had the keeper not pulled off a great save and the post been half an inch further to the left. But not only that, there was also his willingness to not only smash down the left flank at will creating attack after attack, but also to drop back and help out with defensive duties when needed. Stand up and take a bow Deano. Today was the best performance we've seen from you in a City shirt, and one of the best individual performances during a game for many a season.
And then there's the front two. It's hard to think of enough superlatives, but if anyone deserved a goal then Stansfield did. No shots all game, but his relentless pursuit of long balls into the box or hassling and harrying back passes makes you seriously wonder just how many miles he covered this evening. But valiant though that is, you still need someone to put the ball in the net, and once again it was Richard Logan, with his first hat trick for the club taking him to 11 for the season - not to sniffed at after a mere 15 games. Thing is, he could have had at least two or three more had the luck been with him, and his sensational 40-odd yard chip would have been worth the admission price alone had it dropped six inches short.
And so we find ourselves six points and five goals better off since Saturday lunch time. I tidy haul in anyone's book, and two completely contrasting matches. Saturday was all about getting a win no matter how it came about. Today was about showing the rest of the division that on our day we can smash anyone we please all over the Park, and we did just that with some authority.
This weekend we're off to troubled Northwich before returning to the Park the following Saturday to face Rushden. By tea time then we could well be looking at four straight wins, a welcome change from all those draws, you'll probably be there in numbers to cheer the lads on like you did today before we break for FA Cup action. There's many who've missed an absolute belter tonight, including quite possibly the performance of the season from Deano, so dare you run the risk of missing another when Rushden, and Jon Challinor, visit in a couple of weeks? Course not, see you there then.
