Tividale 5 Lye Town 0

Chilton opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick and added a second when he converted Kyle Hill’s cross.

The hosts missed several chances to extend the lead before substitute Adam Hill eventually got the third with his first touch.

Chilton then completed his hat-trick from close range and Chris Russell made it five at the death.

For Tividale this was the perfect tonic after Saturday’s disappointing defeat to Bewdley Town.

Lye, ravaged by injury, rarely threatened and lacked the spark of their opponents. They will be grateful to keeper Tom Harper without whom the hosts could have got more.

Tivi signalled their intent in the opening seconds with a flowing, passing move which resulted in Brett Clarke firing powefully but straight at Harper.

Chilton then sent a long range effort off target while Lye full-back Lee Dimmock did excellently to block the forward’s close range shot a minute later, after Clarke had muscled his way to the by-line.

Even in opening exchanges Tivi looked like being the biggest danger to themselves and Ash Greenaway had Lye’s first attempt on the quarter hour, firing a free-kick over the bar after being brought down when the home defence carelessly lost possession.

Five minutes later it was a needless foul at the other end which helped the hosts taking the lead. Centre back Graham Ashton lead with his elbow when jumping with Clarke on the edge of the box and after the visiting player had been booked, Chilton fired an inch perfect free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.

Lye had no response and five minutes later were two down. Tivi broke at pace with Russell bursting through the centre and he fed Hill on the right, whose first time cross was caressed past Harper by Chilton, with the nearest marker ten yards away.

Visiting skipper Damian Whitcombe fires awkwardly over as his side looked for a way back. Craig Gregg was then guilty of squandering arguably Lye’s best chance of the night when, in space, he dawdled too long before striking Matt Corfield’s knock back and saw his shot blocked.

But without Harper the game would have been over before half-time. First he saved smartly from Clarke after the forward had been allowed to race onto an aimless through ball by the sleepy Lye backline. Then he twice denied Chilton his third, first spreading himself to save after the winger had been sent clear, before beating away a sharply struck strike from another needless free-kick.

The second half began at a fairly steady pace with the hosts still in control and looking the most threatening, the busy Russell seeing a header and then a shot go just the wrong side of Harper’s right upright.

Clint Hughes replaced Matt Corfield as the game began to get more stretched and Lye enjoyed perhaps their best spell of possession.

But just when you wondered whether there may be a way back into the game for the visitors, Tivi grabbed their third to kill any doubt.

Another nice move saw Chilton’s cross go right across the face of Harper’s goal and Hill, who had been on the field less than a minute, arrived at the far post to slam it home.

Minutes later Chilton had his hat-trick, reacting quicker than the defence to a loose ball after Kyle Hill’s shot had been blocked and giving the keeper no chance with a powerfully struck shot.

That was about it until the early seconds of stoppage time, when Russell got the goal he deserved to make it five.

The forward was announced as the scorer and will keep the goal unless the league decide to introduce a dubious goals panel, his goal bound but weak shot taking a big deflection off Ashton to wrong foot Harper before trickling over the line.

TIVIDALE: Trevalen, Turton, Chilton J, Cole (Blair 76), Kettle, Williams, Hill K (Perks 82), Taylor (c), Russell, Clarke (Hill A 71), Chilton L Subs not used: Cotterill, Stevens.

Goals: Chilton L 20, 25, 76 Hill A 72, Russell 90.

LYE: Harper, Dimmock, Stephens, Brown, Ashton, Rochester, Corfield (Hughes 69), Whitcombe (c), Greenaway, Gregg, Webb Subs not used: Houghton, Foster, Watson, Smith.