Blaise Duruaku hat-trick inspires big Shirebrook win over West Bridgford

After making it three unbeaten in midweek with the 1-0 victory over South Normanton, Shirebrook were looking to stretch it to four as West Bridgford made the journey from Nottingham.

Shirebrook made a bright start as Blaise Duruaku had an early sighting of goal when Joe Shaw found him with a cross. Duruaku fired his shot towards goal but the West Bridgford keeper managed to tip it away for a corner.

Shirebrook would have to wait until the 24th minute for their next sighting of goal when Duruaku was played in down the right. His cross found Ryan Parker, who tried a spectacular overhead kick effort but his shot went just over the bar.

In the 26th minute, the deadlock was broken when Shaw swung in a corner that West Bridgford failed to deal with. The ball eventually fell to Duruaku, who back-heeled the ball over the line to claim his first goal for Shirebrook since arriving over the summer.

Shirebrook went close to extending their lead in the 33rd minute when Ryan Parker played a cross-field ball to Shaw, who had acres of space to run into. He found himself 25 yards out from goal and let rip but his shot cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety.

As the second half got underway, Shirebrook were soon back on the attack and almost added to the scoreline in the 49th minute. Parker tried his luck from the edge of the box but the West Bridgford keeper made a brilliant save to get down to his right and tip the ball away for a corner.

Shirebrook finally got their second goal, and what a goal it was. A cross from the left took multiple deflections before falling to Parker on the edge of the box. His shot also took a deflection and fell to Duruaku, who smashed an overhead kick into the back of the net.

With a two-goal advantage, Shirebrook were in all-out attack mode as they sensed an opportunity to add to the goal difference.

In the 76th minute, Duruaku completed his hat-trick when he was played through and shrugged off a West Bridgford defender to lob the goalkeeper and claim his third of the day.

However, the scoring wasn’t finished for the afternoon. In the 79th minute, Shirebrook got their fourth goal when Ben Hartley was played in down the right and managed to slot the ball in from tight angle to round off an excellent afternoon’s work.