BLUES BLITZ LEAVES ABBEY IN RUINS

Neil Baker enjoyed a emphatic 9-1 victory in his first game back in charge of the club as Blues went goal crazy at Abbey Hulton United.

The Leek boss had a full-strength squad at his disposal plus a number of trialists as his side took on the Staffordshire County League champions and North West Counties League new boys.

However it was the familiar figure of Tim Grice who got Blues off the mark when he nodded in a right wing cross after 5 minutes.

Abbey got back into it on 19 minutes when they scored a fine equaliser with a chip over Ben Chapman.

Jonny Higham (pictured) got Leek back in front when he scored after pouncing on the loose ball after Niall Maguire's shot was saved in the 35th minute.

Four minutes after the break the impressive Troy Baker made it 3-1 but it took a further 20 minutes before Blues scored a fourth - an excellent glancing header into the corner of the net from Grice.

By this stage the substitutions were in full swing and Rob Stevenson had been on the field a matter of minutes when he netted the rebound from a save following excellent work by Higham down the left wing in the 72nd minute.

The floodgates then opened as Abbey tired. Dan Shelley made it 6-1 two minutes later when his shot went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Jordan Johnson came off the bench for his first action since January and soon found the back of the net when he scored the seventh on 83 minutes.

Fellow substitute Chris Budrys completed the rout with two goals in the last three minutes to make the final score Abbey Hulton United 1 Leek Town 9.

Team: Chapman, Williams, Morris, Faulkner, Chadwick, Beaumont, Baker, Maguire, Grice, Higham, Shelley

Used Subs: Stevenson, Blake, Grocott, Budrys, Johnson, Trialist

Unused Subs: Green, Curley