Striker Macquille Walker netted a first half hat-trick as Hamilton Parish beat BAA 3-2 at Wellington Oval yesterday to move closer to securing promotion back to the Premier Division.

This top-of-the-table clash had all the excitement packed into the first half when all five goals were scored, with the winner coming right on half time when Walker completed his hat-trick with a volley from inside the box.

“It was an important hat-trick today, one the team needed,” said the 23-year-old striker.

“It was from a corner and I was actually going to take it but my team-mates were telling me ‘get in the box’. I brought it down on my chest and before it hit the ground I hit it home.

“Promotion is definitely the goal. We’re fighting hard and every game counts at this point so it feels good to get a hat-trick. I was in a drought as far as getting goals though my assists have been pretty good.”

Walker opened the scoring in the 24th minute and made it 2-0 six minutes later before two goals in four minutes by BAA through Caleb McDowall and Tre Burgess in the 32nd and 36th minutes tied it all up.

Just as the teams were preparing for the break, Walker popped up with a third for himself and his team to complete an exciting opening half.

Walker almost had a fourth in the 87th minute when he ran into the box but put a shot with his weaker left foot into the side netting with just goalkeeper Andrew Lee to beat.

“I got caught in two minds at the last minute as far as passing across the box or scoring, but unfortunately it was on my weaker foot,” he admitted.

“I got a hat-trick to make up for it and we’ll just look at the positives today, three points and a hat-trick.”

BAA, the only team to take a point off Parish this season when they salvaged a late 2-2 draw in their last meeting, also lost second place in the promotion race after Boulevard capitalised with a 2-1 win over fourth-placed Young Men’s Social Club at Goose Gosling Field.

Ryan Parris put Social Club in front in the 29th minute before Takeyhi Walker Samuels equalised two minutes into the second half. Captain Ian Coke scored the winner in the 55th minute as Boulevard moved a point ahead of BAA with four matches remaining.

Yesterday’s other match produced an astonishing 10 goals between the two bottom teams, Vasco and Paget at Southampton Oval. Both teams were looking for their first win of the season and in the end it was Paget who broke the duck after nine losses in 11 matches with an incredible 6-4 victory.

Paget never looked back after Patraic Castle opening the scoring for them in the seventh minute. Saige Hewey made it 2-0 in the 26th minute before Jelani Simmons added a third in the 28th for a 3-0 lead at the half.

Hewey added his second of the match in the 48th minute and Simmons did likewise three minutes later to make it 5-0. Danerio Tacklyn made it 6-0 in the 62nd minute as Paget enjoyed the goal frenzy.

However, the tide did change in the last half-hour of the match with Vasco doing all the scoring as they put some respectability to the scoreline with four goals.

Kevin Cabral scored their first in the 65th minute, Daniel Teleman netted a second in the 74th before Lamaul Crofton pulled it back to 6-3 in the 88th. Jake Fox added the fourth three minutes into stoppage time to make it 6-4.

In Saturday’s match at Lord’s, Wolves edged St David’s 2-1 with Sergio Richardson scoring in the 23rd minute and Antinori Butterfield adding a second in the 38th minute. Cody Richardson pulled one back for St David’s in the 72nd minute.