Young Men’s Social Club 3 North Village1

Josh Hardtman’s first-half hat-trick catapulted Young Men’s Social Club to an impressive come-from-behind victory over North Village in a fiercely contested Premier Division encounter at Devonshire Rec last night.

Village took the lead through Tiago Correira’s neat finish before Social Club hit back with three unanswered tallies from Hardtman to complete an impressive comeback.

“Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t and today was just my day so I’ll take it when they come,” Hardtman told The Royal Gazette. “These are my first ones [goals] for the season so it’s been a good time and I am excited.”

As for his team’s gutsy display, the 26-year-old striker added: “The game plan was to work hard and that’s what we did and we got our three points.

“When they beat us 1-0 [in the Dudley Eve Trophy] we had a really good game and it was just unlucky it didn’t go our way. We didn’t take our chances so we made an emphasis when we got them and that’s what happened.

“We have a nice nucleus and as you can see we are all supporting each other — it’s good vibes and it was just our day.”

Correira put Village ahead after tapping in Judah Chapman's low cross, but Social Club came roaring back when Hardtman converted during a counter-attack.

Hardtman then put Social Club ahead for good with another clinical finish and completed his hat-trick moments later with a thunderous effort after latching on to Jesse Seymour's defence-splitting pass.

Village created the most chances in the second half and had an appeal for a penalty fall on deaf ears as Social Club held on to claim the spoils and get their league campaign off to the perfect start.

SCORERS

Young Men’sSocial Club: Hardtman 19, 33, 35

North Village: Correira 13

TEAMS

Young Men’sSocial Club (4-1-4-1): R Evans 8 — Z Hendrickson 7 (sub: K Smith, 90min), R Parris 8, J Richardson 7, T Tucker 7 (sub: M Hardtman, 63 7) — J Johnson 7 — G Butterfield 7, P Smith 7, J Seymour 7, M Wilson 7 — J Hardtman 9 (sub: A Mathews, 84). Substitutes not used: M Johnson, B Swan, C Woolridge. Booked: Seymour, Johnson.

North Village (4- 2-3-1): T Fray 5 — K Harrison 6, T Manders 6, R Sampson 7, L Evans 6 — L Steede 7, S Spence 7 — A Dill 7 (sub: J Basden, 71 6), T Correria 7 (sub: T Ming, 57 7), J Chapman 7 — J Bean 7. Substitutes not used: J Hayward, Z Jennings. Booked: Bean.

Referee: D Jackson.