Lichfield City FC eased through to the next stage of the Polymac Packaging League Cup thanks to a Ben Lund hat-trick.
Dave Langston’s men put the disappointment of their weekend defeat against Bromsgrove Sporting behind them with a confident 4-0 triumph over Long Eaton United.
Josh Haston spurned an early chance for City before Lund opened the scoring after cutting in side and firing home.
The Long Eaton keeper was again called into action by Haston before Daniel Griffiths saw his shot fumbled but the stopper was quick to recover.
Lund continued to carve out chances at will as Lichfield continued to dominate the opening period, but the second goal came from an unlikely source as Richard Deavall’s free kick evaded everyone to sneak in at the far post.
The second half saw Long Eaton have one of their better spells, with City keeper Amrick Virdee forced to scramble to recover after failing to fully deal with a long range effort at the first attempt.
But the game was killed off as Lund rifled home his second goal in off the bar.
The Lichfield striker thought he’d nabbed his hat-trick, only for a defender to clear off the line.
Dan Thurstance and the returning Liam Holt were next to test the Long Eaton keeper as City cranked up the pressure on their opponents.
But fittingly it was Lund who had the final say, the striker powering home from 20 yards to secure a 4-0 victory.