Earsham continued their good run of form by beating Stalham Reserves for the third time this season and movied into second place in the league after their emphatic 8-0 win in which striker Dan Smith bagged five goals.

After last week’s excellent win over Gorleston Reserves, manager Dave Reeder once again named the same starting line-up. Goalkeeper Honeywood played behind the defence of M Goodfellow, Riches, Ramsay and Edge. J Goodfellow partnered Seamons in midfield with Hepburn and Girling on the wings. Smith and Flint led the attack with Nolloth, Doughty and new signing Dan Lowe.

Playing into the strong wind in the first half, Earsham knew that they had to ensure they maintained possession and keep the ball out of the air.

Earsham opened the scoring when Flint chased a clearance down and as the keeper and defender hesitated, he squared to Smith for an easy finish from 12 yards.

Earsham’s second came when the ball was moved quickly from Earsham’s own box in a slick passing move that eventually led to Smith being put through. He outmuscled the defender to pass the ball through the keeper’s legs and double his tally.

Flint then added a third after good work by Smith had seen him get to the by-line and pick out his strike partner with his pass.

With 35 minutes gone, it was 4-0 when Seamons found space in behind after another slick passing move and he kept his composure to score his 11th goal of the season.

Just before half time, Flint worked the ball well on the edge of the box, and once he had created enough space, was able to find the bottom corner out of the goalkeeper’s reach.

With the wind to their advantage, Earsham were able to apply even more pressure in the second half. It didn’t take long for Smith to complete his hat-trick to make it 6-0.

With the game won, Earsham eased off but chances were still coming at regular intervals. Smith was on target twice more late on to finish the day with five goals and take his season’s tally to 43.

A comprehensive away victory moved Earsham up to second in the table. This weekend they host Bungay Reserves at 2.30pm.