Kendal Town scored a welcome first League win of the season and climbed five places in the NPL West table as a result.
The 4-3 home win over Prescot Cables was built on a flowing first-half of football in which they established a 3-0 lead.
Chris Humphrey’s men led 4-1 after 77 minutes but had to withstand a nervous finale as Prescot scored twice in the last three minutes of the 90.
The Kendal manager had been bemoaning his lack of a consistent goal-scorer but Eric Yahaya had been paying attention as he helped himself to a hat-trick.
He struck twice in the 25th and 34th minutes and went on to complete a fine hat-trick with a fine finish on 77 minutes. Greg McGaragher also found the net for Kendal after 37 minutes.
McKenzie O’Neil scored for Prescot on 75 minutes and then a double late-on from James McCulloch gave Prescot hope of salvaging a point when none previously had existed. They now slip to bottom of the table without a win.
Humphrey was delighted to get the first win and off the bottom but says he has always had faith in the young team.
“We have played well in different games without getting the results we deserved. That has largely been down to our inability to take our chances.
“That changed against Prescot when Eric scored a deserved hat-trick. The first half performance, in particular, was very impressive and encouraging,” he said.
Yahaya is now the second leading goal-scorer in the League with five successful strikes, one behind James Murphy of Ramsbottom.