Football
WITH details of the new season still very much up in the air West Auckland Town kicked off their 2020/21 pre-season campaign with a resounding win behind closed doors against Washington United.
Hat-tricks in either half from Nathan Fisher and David Dowson as well as goals from Callum Patton, Anthony Bell, Adam Mitchell and a Trialist saw West complete a comfortable rout over lower league opposition.
In their first match in 150 days, West fielded a whole host of new faces, including Michael Hoganson, Luke Bythway, Andre Bennett, and Patton.
In hot and humid conditions, it took West just four minutes to open the scoring with Patton’s exceptional through ball finished with aplomb by Nathan Fisher.
After Mason Hurworth was fouled inside the box, Fisher rifled home the spot-kick to double West’s lead in the opening 15-minutes.
Before the drinks break, West added a third after Hegarty’s low cross from the right was side-footed home by Patton.
With a few minutes of the first half remaining, Bell curled in a fourth with his left boot before Fisher rounded off his hat-trick moments later with a composed finish beyond Aidan Mutch.
West started after the interval with the same high intensity and grabbed a quick sixth via a trialist.
In a professional performance from the hosts, West added another two more in the space of three minutes as Mitchell fired home a seventh from just outside the area.
Dowson inflicted more misery on the Wearside league opposition with a close-range finish from Kyle Fryatt’s cutback.
Following another clumsy challenge inside the area, West were awarded their second penalty of the afternoon and Dowson made no mistake, smashing home from 12 yards.
The marksman completed his hat-trick in the closing stages with a neat finish in the bottom left corner to round off a superb team performance and 10-0 win.
West Auckland: Flynn, Hegarty, Hoganson (Trialist, 45), Harwood, Bythway, Bennett (Dodds, 45), Scott (Trialist, 45), Bell, Patton (Fryatt, 45), Fisher (Dowson, 45), Hurworth (Mitchell, 45)
Goals: Fisher (4, 15, 42), Patton (25), Bell (41), Trialist (47), Mitchell (50), Dowson (52, 70, 82)
Washington: Mutch, Shevels, Brown, Lakey, Ward, Gill, Wintersgill, Thomson, Wood, Lee (C), Cook
Harry Connor Crowe
