The Nailers put on a show for their fans under the lights on an overcast Tuesday evening at the Raygar Stadium. Belper manager Grant Black will be ecstatic with the final result as his side easily brushed past a Sutton Coldfield side that couldn’t keep pace with a rampant Nailers.

Despite the final score and Belper’s energetic start to the game, it was the visitors who took the lead in the 17th minute as skipper Danny South brought down Jordan Francis in the penalty area after a coming together. Reece Leek tucked the penalty into the bottom corner to put his side 1-0 against the run of play.

However, Sutton Coldfield’s lead was only temporary as just four minutes later the home side levelled the score line.

The goal came from an unlikely source after Craig Nelthorpe crossed the ball into the box from the left side of the pitch causing a goal mouth scramble. Luckily for Belper, the ball fell to Tyreece Robinson who was able to smash home making the game 1-1.

The Nailers never looked back from that moment and pushed for their second goal of the game which eventually came in the 29th minute.

After controlling possession, Belper took the lead for the first time in the match; again it was Nelthorpe with some great work taking on Sutton Coldfield captain Ben George and crossing the ball in the box. Goalkeeper Lewis Gwilliam, attempted to come out and collect the cross but unfortunately dropped the ball, leaving talisman Steve McDonnell with an easy tap in.

McDonnell got his second and Belper’s third four minutes later, when midfielder Derry Robson crossed a great ball towards the number 9 who was able to flick his header into the bottom corner, adding more misery for the Royals in a game which started off so promising for them.

The Sutton Coldfield defence couldn’t deal with the aerial danger that the Nailers possessed, and on 38 minutes the home side made it 4-1. The goal coming from another Nelthorpe cross which McDonnell tried to acrobatically overhead kick into the net, however his attempt fell to Wright who calmly tucked it home.

The visitors, who were clearly lacking confidence, made it even worse for themselves before half time as defender Sufyan Zia slipped whilst watching a long clearance come down from the air. This allowed Robson a clear run at goal and the midfielder didn’t disappoint with his finish as he smashed the ball home and put his side 5-1 up going into the second half.

With the game looking already finished, both teams started the second half quite flat although Belper were still controlling the game with their high pressing.

This eventually caused a mistake from the away side, as Robson stole the ball from defender Ryan Shaw after careless play in his own box and laid it off to substitute Alex Peterson who was able to tuck the ball into the corner and make it 6-1 to The Nailers.

Robson was relentless in his work rate, causing things to go from bad to worse for Sutton Coldfield as the Belper number 7 made it 7-1 to his side on 73 minutes. The midfielder latched on to a loose ball in the area allowing him to shoot first time past Gwilliam, who had a day to forget in goal for the visitors.

Belper seemed to slightly ease off their opponents which they could afford to after the team’s wonderful display, and the Royals briefly came into the game albeit much too late for them to avert their embarrassment.

The game finished 7-1 to Belper Town which will leave a big impression on the rest of the Pitching in Northern Premier League.

The Nailers now face a tough home fixture against Worksop Town this coming Saturday at the Raygar Stadium

Belper Town: Overton, Rhodes, Nelthorpe, Gregory, South, Robinson, Robson, Wright (Dolan 76), McDonnell (Dawes 45), Curtis, Crouz (Peterson 64), Unused substitutes: Ridley, Edwards

Sutton Coldfield Town: Gwilliam, George, Moore (Garmson 53), Shaw (Milligan 79), Zia, Beresford, Powney, Massey (Hurst 53), Ahenkorah, Leek, Francis, Unused substitutes: Beckford, Male

Referee: Chris Hunter

Attendance: 353