GAZ Shaw maintained his impressive scoring form for upwardly-mobile Atherton Town, who came from behind to steamroller the Premier Division’s bottom club Chapel Town 6-1 on Saturday.

Shaw followed up his hat-trick against Wythenshawe Amateurs last time out with a four-goal salvo to add weight to manager Shaun Lynch’s belief that his team should no longer have any fears of being relegated in their first season back in the top flight.

A second successive 6-1 win put Town on 18 points from 15 games, fourth from bottom of the table but seven points clear of third-bottom Rochdale Sacred Heart.

Yet Lynch is starting to look up the table rather than down at the danger zone.

“We’ve dragged a few teams into it who are just above us now – like Elton Vale and Springhead – and if we can get to mid-table by the end of the season, I’d be very happy,” he said.

“That was our target at the start of the season, because we have a young squad who we knew would have to get used to the Premier Division.

“But we’re doing all right now. Gaz Shaw’s scored seven in the last two games and his partnership with Nick Eastham is looking really good – they’ve scored 10 between them in the last two.”

Eastham and Lee Fitzmartin scored the first-half goals to put Town 2-1 up at half-time after conceding early on against the run of play.

The second half was all Town, with Shaw in prolific scoring mood.

Hindsford still have their eyes on a fourth successive title, despite losing 2-1 at Walshaw Sports.

Trailing 1-0 at half time to a Jay Hunter header, the Squires Lane outfit were incensed to have a penalty awarded against them that was converted by Lee Chapman to put the home side 2-0 up on 75 minutes and also saw them reduced to 10 men after skipper Robert Cooke was red-carded in the heated exchanges sparked by the controversial decision.

They pulled a goal back through Tom Valentine five minutes later, but were unable to rescue the situation.

“The game turned on a controversial penalty and the sending off,” Massey said. “Actually we played better with 10 men. We got a goal back straight away and looked like we were going to go on and do some damage, but time ran out on us.”

The result left Hindsford sixth in the table, eight points behind leaders Stockport Georgians, but with two games in hand – a situation Massey believes is not irretrievable.

“If we win our games in hand we’ll be two points behind Stockport and we still have to play them,” he added.

“We’re still in the frame and it’s still very much in our own hands.

“We’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Man-of-the-match Kyle Giles and Ross Farrington scored two goals apiece as Pennington – playing their first game of the year – won 5-2 at Hollinwood to move up to eighth in Division One.

Nick Pilling was also on target for the Atherleigh-based side.

Neighbours Leigh Athletic’s push for a promotion place was hit by a 4-1 defeat away to second-placed Old Alts.

The defeat left the Latics fourth in the table but with two games in hand on three of the teams above them in the table