Dandy Town 6 Wolves 0

K’wonde Lathan struck a hat-trick to help Dandy Town to an emphatic victory over a disjointed Wolves in the FA Challenge Cup first round at Devonshire Recreation Club yesterday.

Town simply had too much quality for their opponents who seemed to lack the stomach for the battle and were perhaps fortunate not to find themselves on the receiving end of an even bigger beating.

Wolves, whose defence could not cope with the searing pace of Town’s chief attacking outlets, Damon Ming and Angelo Simons, were three goals down by the half-hour mark and looked bereft of ideas at both ends of the pitch.

Lathan opened his account in the 13th minute with a neat, close range finish before further goals from Fabian Frankson and Angelo Simmons put Town firmly in control.

After the break, the goals kept on coming for Hornets with Lathan adding his second in a cheeky fashion which pretty much encapsulated Wolves’ abject performance.

A selfless squared pass from Simmons found Lathan in acres of space with the goal at his mercy. Rather than simply tap the ball into the empty net, Lathan stopped the ball on the line, got down on his hands and knees and headed the ball over the line.

It is far to say the Wolves players did not share Lathan’s amusement with Tamauri Tucker picking up a yellow card for a reckless challenge on the Town goalscorer moments later.

By now Wolves’ emotionally crushed players were waiting desperately for referee Anthony Francis to put them out of their misery. They had endure more pain, however, with Lathan then grabbing his hat-trick with a simple sidefooted effort past Wolves goalkeeper Stephen Davis, who had an afternoon to forget.

Substitute striker Temiko Wilson completed the scoring with a header from a right wing Jahmel Swan cross in the 89th minute, as the league leaders powered their way into the next round of the competition. While Jomar Wilkinson, the Town coach, was thrilled by his side’s lopsided victory, he was more encouraged by the manner in which they swept Wolves aside.

“I’m actually more pleased by our play today,” Wilkinson said. “The way we played was exceptional and if we can continue that type of football then it looks very promising for us.

“We’re in the business end of the season now and having a full squad available really push the other guys and creates some competition for places. The FA Cup is a prestigious cup and hopefully we can book a place at the table on the last game of the season.”