The best birthday present Droitwich Manager Andy Crowther could have asked for came on Saturday, as his Spa side defeated Cribbs FC 4-0, and pushed themselves to the top of the table.

Droitwich took control of the game almost instantly, with a Charlie Tilley chance in the 5th minute, and a Cory Rudd chance in the 14th minute narrowly missing the target.

Tilley didn't have to wait long for another chance however, as in the 15th minute he fired in to the far corner for his 10th goal of the season, to break the deadlock.

Spa had what felt like an endless stream of chances and dominated play in all areas of the pitch.
Following some excellent work between the two new signings, Will Dallaway finished emphatically thanks to a precise set up from James Baldwin, making the game 2-0 in the 27th minute.

Cribbs had their first and only attempt of he half in the 35th minute, but Keiran Clayton fired his free kick wide from a promising position.

A Josh Hurdman free kick six minutes later suffered the same fate, and just before the close of the half Jack Brighton sent an attempt gliding past the post.

Cribbs came out fighting in the second half, with the 51st minute seeing Greg Yarde fire wide from an eyebrow raising distance.
Buster Reid also raised the heart rates of Spa fans in the 54th minute, his powerful strike just missing the target.

In the same minute, Reiss Taylor-Randle was denied spectacularly by Cribbs ‘keeper Aaron Greatbanks.
However, from the resulting corner, Josh Hurdman shot an attempt at goal on the spin, and slotted it expertly into the corner for his ninth goal of the season, making it 3-0 to Droitwich.

In the 60th minute, Hurdman was inches away from a Puskas worthy goal, his first time volley going narrowly over the bar.

More chances came and went for Spa, but one was finally capitalised upon by Rohan Levy in the 67th minute, turning in a corner for Droitwich’s fourth of the afternoon also marking his first senior goal for the club, having been a product of the Youth system at Spa.

The game seemed to quieten down after this, with little pressure being put on either side.
In the 84th minute however, the tranquility that had been the entirety of the game up to this point was disrupted, as Levy was shown a second yellow card – forcing the Saltmen to end the game with 10 men.

This didn’t affect the end result, as the match concluded 4-0 to Spa.

Four goals, a clean sheet, and three points – all while being top of the table with a game in hand on 2nd placed Roman Glass spells out a successful day for Droitwich, whilst Cribbs slipped to bottom of the table as Hallen defeated title favourites Slimbridge, 4-0.

167 supporters came out to support the team for this emphatic win.

The Saltmen are back in action next Saturday at home to Lydney Town in the league (ko 3pm).