GARETH Shaw scored his third hat-trick in successive matches as Atherton Town beat East Manchester 5-0 to maintain their push for a mid-table finish in their first season back in the Premier Division.

The in-form Town striker went into the game having scored seven goals in his two previous games and by half time had added three more as the Howe Bridge men stormed into a 4-0 lead – Jack Marshall netting the fourth just before the break.

Luke Jones wrapped up the scoring in the second half as Town secured a their third successive victory, which took them up to 11th in the table.

“I asked Gaz for another hat-trick before the game and he delivered,” said delighted boss Shaun Lynch.

“We played well again and it was game over by half time. We cruised the second half.

“That’s nine points from three games with 17 goals scored and just two against. We’ve gone above Springhead and Elton Vale and it’s set us up nicely for Saturday when we play the leaders, Walshaw Sports. That should be a good one for us because if we want to be challenging for the title next season, they are the teams we’re going to have to be beating.”

A depleted Hindsford side lost more ground in their push for a fourth successive title when they were held to a 1-1 draw away to fourth-placed Dukinfield Town.

Leading 1-0, courtesy of a Paul Dixon strike on the half hour, the Squires Lane men conceded an equaliser 15 minutes into the second half, but could have snatched all three points if Jack Valentine had converted a chance with the last kick of the game.

The draw left Hindsford, who were without eight first-teamers, in seventh place but with games in hand on all the teams above them. Manager Barry Massey accepts, however, they will need an upturn in form if they are to keep the pressure on Stockport Georgians, who are second and the team to beat if they are to be champions again.

“There are 15 games to play and 45 points to play for so there’s still a long way to go,” Massey said.

“We’ve got to play Prestwich Heys twice, Wythenshawe twice and Walshaw and Stockport – all tough games. If we can get something from them we can keep the pressure on Stockport, but we’ve got to get back to full strength and start winning games again."

Breightmet United manager Simon Wilcox has ruled out a promotion challenge after a poor run of results has seen the Moss Park side lose ground on their Division One rivals in recent weeks.

The latest setback – a 5-0 defeat on the 3G surface at Hollinwood on Saturday – looked, on the face of it, a demoralising result. But Wilcox was not at all downbeat after seeing his side hold their own for the first 35 minutes.

“I told them after the game that if they play like that we’ll win more games than we lose,” he said.

“I had five or six players aged under 19 and, despite Hollinwood being a difficult team to beat on that surface, I had a smile on my face for 35 minutes – then we made one mistake and it all went wrong.”

A goal down after a defensive mix-up, they were down to 10 men when goalkeeper Ash Whittle was sent off for a foul on an opposing striker after being sold short by an under-hit backpass.

“They made it 2-0 from the penalty and five minutes later we were 4-0 down.

“At half time I asked them to show some character and they did. Even though we conceded a goal in the second half we played well and 5-0 was an unfair reflection on the performance.”

Fourth-placed Leigh Athletic lost ground on the promotion race when they went down 3-1 at home to third-placed Boothstown.

Trailing 3-0, the Latics' James Dooley rounded off a slick move to score the goal of the game to spark a fightback, but, despite creating a number of chances,it was to no avail.

Pennington’s recent revival was derailed by a 2-0 home defeat by leaders Old Alts, although they were pressing for an equaliser when Alts broke clear on the counter-attack to snatch their second goal.