Wakefield Bradford 1 - Belper 3 (HT 0-0).
Scorer: Joanna Leigh 41f, 44f, 48f.
Team: Sabbie Heesh, Anna Toman, Anke Kozuch, Joanna Lane, Sophie Hawkins, Kerry McCollum, Alice Sharp, Joanna Leigh, Elizabeth Hunt, Alicia Robinson, Charlotte Hobbs, Rhiannon Rogers, Kim Wilson.
With the fastest ever recorded hat-trick for Belper in the England Hockey National League, Joanna Leigh smashed Wakefield into submission in the space of 7 minutes with three powerful strikes from the top of the circle to move the third placed Nailers six points clear of their Yorkshire rivals.
A goalless first half had seen Belper on top but nothing to show for it. There had been several opportunities to take the lead. Kerry McCollum hit the keeper from a narrow angle, Charlotte Hobbs missed the ball from 5 metres out as it sped across the front of the goal and Joanna Leigh put a reverse stick effort over the bar. At the other end keeper Sabbie Heesh deflected a Wakefield chance over the bar to keep her goal intact.
Belper were concerned at half-time that they had not taken advantage of the breaks created and that Wakefield's hard-hitting long ball tactics might well provide their opponents with a goal scoring chance. Their worst fears were realised four minutes into the second half when a long pass down the right and a deflected hard-hit lifted centre enabled Wakefield to turn the ball into the net as Sabbie Heesh, a defender and the scorer tangled.
However, this was the catalyst that Belper needed. Two minutes later Kerry McCollum's centre from the right found Leigh in space at the top of the circle and her shot was so quick that the ball sped through the keeper's legs before she had a chance to move. Three minutes later Leigh repeated the dose with another cracking effort and shortly after that in the 48th minute, Anna Toman and Rhiannon Rogers combined well down the right to give Leigh a third chance and she slammed the ball against the backboard so hard that it rebounded to the top of the circle.
Wakefield were shell-shocked and if, three minutes later, Alicia Robinson's deflection from an Anna Toman pass had entered the net and not hit a post, then they would have been out on their feet.
To the Yorkshire side's credit they rallied to force four penalty corners inside ten minutes but Sabbie Heesh and her defence team repelled all their efforts to take the Nailers to a memorable 3-1 victory.
This weekend sees Belper engaged in two season-defining matches. On Saturday at Belper Meadows (1.30pm), the visitors are league-leaders Durham University and on Sunday the Nailers are away to second-placed Sutton Coldfield.
When Belper visited Durham in November they were denied a point from the game by a catastrophic umpiring error as they went down 1-0. In October when Sutton Coldfield visited, it was a thriller of a game ending 4-3 to the Birmingham-based outfit. Belper's markedly improved form at both ends of the pitch since the league re-start after the mid-season break, promises two matches of the highest quality with Belper believing that they can turn the tables in both instances.