Pyrford put aside recent average performances by thrashing rivals Byfleet Royals 6-0, moving above Black Prince into second in the process.
The theme for the game was set within the first minute, as Pyrford looked hungry and immediately chased down Byfleet's kick off with Lewis and Andy Kidd making strong challenges. The ball was played to Rob by Lewis, and he found Snipes in space who beat his man and made no mistake from 10 yards out, to put Pyrford one up within 20 seconds.
This early pressure was relentless from the home side and they always looked likely to score. Rob doubled the lead after seven minutes following more good work by Lewis, as Byfleet couldn't cope with the lack of space they were given.
Pyrford continued to dominate, and missed a few more good chances to increase their lead. Rob and Snipes both went close as Pyrford's pace up front was causing havoc in the Byfleet defence. Indeed minutes later it was 3-0, as Byfleet continued to try to pass the ball around their back line, and Rob closed down their centre half after he took one touch too many, and gave the keeper no chance with a curling effort.
Byfleet started to come into the game a little more, but when they did create a chance they couldn't beat Nathan, who pulled off one excellent save in particular. Despite the territorial advantage Byfleet had started to gain, it was Pyrford who always looked more likely to score. Snipes was completely unplayable, as his pace and strength were just too much for any of the Byfleet defenders, who couldn't even get close enough to foul him properly. The home side missed a few more good chances to finish the game in the first half, but looked reasonably comfortable at 3-0 with Byfleet only playing in front of them, and with the threat Pyrford posed going forward it seemed only a matter of time before the lead was increased.
A positive teamtalk at half time had the desired effect, as the game was over early in the second half. Pyrford went on the attack immediately, and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the game. With just 5 minutes of the half played, after a scramble from a corner, Matt cushioned the ball into Andy Kidd's path just outside the box. Andy had two swipes at it, but the second one couldn't have been sweeter, as his left footed effort rose into the top right corner and in off the post. A sublime strike with his weaker foot, and no-one looked more surprised than him!
The game was over as a contest with the fourth goal and it was simply a matter of how many Pyrford would score. It was soon 5-0 following more great work from Snipes who put Rob clear to complete his hattrick wiith a superb lob over the oncoming keeper from 30 yards.
Wattsy replaced Rob soon after and went close to adding further insult to the scoreline, before Lewis did just that. His skilful turn beat three static defenders, and the one that did track him only managed to crudely hack him down just inside the area. Lewis himself stepped up to take the penalty and make it six.
A couple more chances went begging but it was all a little irrelevant by this stage. Pyrford's excellent performance from back to front was far too much for Byfleet to handle, and the 6-0 scoreline didn't flatter the home side. Snipes got the man of the match award as Byfleet couldn't get near him, but there wasn't a single bad performance on the Pyrford side. A morale boosting victory, which was much needed after recent performances.
