Lichfield City Sharks travelled to Walmley knowing they faced a very tough test against a team yet to lose in the league.
Neither team really took control of the game in the first half and both sides were generally restricted to snapshots which came as a result of corners not being fully cleared.
Whatever Walmley could throw at the Sharks goal the impressive Matt James was equal to and it was clear that he was determined to keep a second clean sheet in as many matches as he commanded his area and made sure he was always in the right place when called upon.
At half time neither team had been able to provide the bit of quality to break the deadlock and 0-0 was a fair scoreline.
The Sharks started the second half a lot brighter and had a real desire to win the game with Josh Taylor and Ben Henstock putting in particularly strong performances.
In the 24th minute the energetic Nathan Ray picked up the ball just inside the Walmley half and powered towards goal before finishing calmly to give Sharks the lead.
The goal lifted Lichfield and there was a quality and calmness about their play that was previously missing. They continued to press the Tigers who seemed to be finding it hard to get to grips with the Sharks midfield by now.
On the odd occasion that they did get through the midfield the solid defence of Lewis Pass, Kyle Cox and Jake Minton were there to mop up and launch a new attack.
In the 27th minute Nathan Ray once again latched onto a loose ball and drove towards the Tigers goal, with Josh Taylor making a decoy run, before easing the Sharks into a two goal lead with another assured finish.
The game continued with some clever passing and touches of skill from the Sharks lighting up the game.
In the 37th minute Nathan Ray bagged his second hat-trick in as many matches, and secured the three points for the Sharks by latching on to a clever Josh Taylor flick that left him with the easiest of finishes past the helpless Tigers keeper.
It was a closer game than the scoreline suggests with Walmley proving to be a very tough side to break down.
Man of the Match went to Jake Minton with some assured defending and calm dribbling out of defence.
Sharks would like to thank The Best Of Lichfield and Fleet Evolution for their continued support.
