BALLYNURE OB soared in to pole position in the Ballymena Intermediate League by thrashing Rasharkin 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The highlight was a hat-trick by leading striker, Ronnie Burns, with Stuart Galbraith and Brian Kennedy also getting their names on the scorecard.
On an afternoon when most of their rivals had matches postponed, Robert Reid's lads, even though not at full strength proved to be too strong for the home side.
Playing up the slope at Bamford Park in the first half, Ballynure still had the upperhand, and officials and players felt badly done by when two penalty appeals were turned down by the referee.
When Rasharkin attacked they got no change out of central defenders Stuart Murray and skipper Stephen Taylor, so that Simon Hamilton had a comparatively easy afternoon in goal.
Five minutes before the break Stuart Galbraith eventually broke the deadlock, when he side-footed in to the net from close range, after Brain Kennedy side-stepped two tackles, and rolled the ball in to his path.
With the slope in their favour in the second session, the Nure lads were in dominant form, and lost no time in doubling the lead. An inter-passing move between Galbraith and Kennedy put Burns in behind the defence, and he coolly slipped the ball under the advancing keeper.
Next it was Burns who was the provider; he threaded the ball through to allow Kennedy to beat the offside trap, and he advanced in to the box before picking his spot.
The Rasharkin keeper then pulled off the best save of the game to deny Burns, after influential midfielder, Galbraith, had beaten three defenders to set up Burns for a clear run on goal.
However Burns had the better of the next exchange with the goalie, when he drilled a free from twenty yards in to the top corner, and five minutes from time he completed a deserved hat-trick when he cut inside his marker, drew the keeper, and calmly rolled the ball in to the net.
Commenting club president, Michael Graham said, "We have hit the front for the first time this season, and we face a crunch fixture next weekend when we go to Ballymoney to take on the early pace-setters, Mosside. They have been sitting at the top for several months, but we always had games in hand. Last week we drew level, and with them having no game we leap-frogged them today, so Saturday's game at their ground will be one of the crucial matches of the season.
"In Rasharkin we were without John Guy, Gerry Mullan and Terry Lyness, so they might have trouble regaining their places. With Grange Rangers having no game we were glad to have Kenny Higgins on the bench, and he almost got his name on the scorecard, as did Paul McAllister.
"Stuart Galbraith and Paul McAlister were in super form in midfield from where they ran the show, while evergreen striker Brian Kennedy who has been in prolific scoring form with the Reserves, linked up well with Ronnie Burns in attack," concluded Michael.
Ballynure OB: S Hamilton; G Meikle, K Woods, S Taylor (C), S Murray; M Leckey, P McAllister, S Galbraith, M Duff; B Kennedy, R Burns. Subs: K Higgins, J Crooks, M Turkington.