Hat Trick Hero Roberts Runs Riot Against Enfield Town

Hat Trick Hero Roberts Runs Riot Against Enfield Town

By Llyod Hassell
James Roberts ran the show as Hampton & Richmond got a comfortable four-nil victory to make it four league games unbeaten.
Inside the opening four minutes, Carl Mensah brought down Bunmi Babajide in the penalty area, which left the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. James Roberts took responsibility and slotted his penalty into the bottom left corner to give the Beavers an early lead.
Hampton & Richmond continued their bright start as Jake Gray’s corner was met by Mauro Vilhete at the back post, but his header could only find the side-netting.
A great opportunity came for the Beavers after James Roberts sent Bunmi Babajide through on goal, but the forward’s shot narrowly went wide.
The visitors came close to an equaliser after a cross into the penalty area found Reece Beckles-Richards, who managed to direct his header toward goal, but not on target.
Five minutes before the interval, Harley Mills stepped up for the Towners and struck his free-kick brilliantly, but the effort rattled both posts and bounced away from danger.
Straight after the break, Hampton & Richmond completed some glorious passing play with Jake Gray laying the ball off to Vilhete, but his shot blazed wide of the goal.
Hampton & Richmond’s lead was doubled after a short corner found Alfie Williams, who rifled his shot at goal. Rhys Forster managed to make the save but parried the ball to Jake Gray and he was alert to the situation to fire the ball into the net.
The pressure was mounting on Enfield Town as Babajide laid the ball off to Josh Keeya in a great position, but the midfielder's shot ended up being deflected and going out for a corner. A few minutes later, some great play down the right-hand side allowed Roberts to have a shot on goal, but his curled attempt was comfortable for Forster.
Bunmi Babajide continued to cause the Enfield Town backline problems as he darted into the penalty area to play a smart flick towards Roberts. The number nine drilled his shot at goal, which almost crept in but was eventually cleared off the line.
The chances continued to come for the home side as James Roberts had a shot from the edge of the box, but Rhys Forster was able to make the stop. Just over fifteen minutes of the game remained when Babajide played an excellent cross to the back post which found Mauro Vilhete, but his strike failed to hit the target.
Hampton & Richmond’s dominance paid off as James Roberts danced his way into the penalty area and fired the ball into the bottom-right corner to get his second of the day.
The hat trick was completed when the ball fell to his feet, and he found the bottom corner once more to round off a brilliant performance from himself and the team.
This victory means Hampton & Richmond climb to eleventh in the National League South, while Enfield Town stays 21st. Hampton & Richmond are back at the Beveree Stadium next weekend as they take on Torquay United. Enfield Town will hope they can bounce back when they host Weymouth at the Dave Bryant Stadium.
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