By Shaun Sankey

THE early pace setters in the Bolton at Home Sunday League are new team Bolton Lads Club, who lead the way with a healthy goal difference and points tally.

They followed up their opening-day victory with a convincing win in the Lancashire Sunday Trophy and last weekend they entertained Unity Brook at Hacken Lane.

Unfortunately for Unity Brook, the in-form Lads Club continued to impress and took the three points with an excellent 8-1 win.

Star man Marc Eccles scored a superb hat-trick, with the other goals coming from Luke Howarth, James Ralphson, Osman Karakan and Ansoumane Konoe while Brook contributed to their own downfall with an own goal.

James Churchill grabbed the consolation goal for Unity Brook.

The result puts the Lads Club top of the table with a goal difference of 18 for and two against.

Last season’s champions Top Club kept up their 100-per-cent start to the season as they took on Bolton Town on Kenyon Way.

The champions were just too strong for previously-unbeaten Bolton Town as they ran out 4-0 victors.

After Josh Smith, Reece Charlton and Aiden Heaton had scored for the Little Hulton side Adam Doyle hit the goal of the game, a free kick that flew into the net from 30 yards.

Dehaviland also kept up their fine start to the season as they entertained Deane FC at Doe Hey.

With veteran striker Arron McCarthy and Gareth Collquitt each netting twice and Kieron Marsh, Craig Sloan, Jamie Crompton and Jack Harrison also scoring they won 8-2, Deane’s replies coming from Yaz Smajic and Nathan Hatton.

The result puts Dehaviland into second place and was a decent 59th birthday present for their manager Malcolm Cubbins.

Newbury entertained another of the Sunday League’s newcomers, North Walkden, and they also secured their second win in two games, an 8-3 victory, helped by the prolific Dominic Sharples, who scored his second hat-trick in two matches.

Newbury’s other goals came from Karl Dunbarton (three), Ben Wilmot and Josh Parrock.

The only other team to have a 100-per-cent record are Astley Bridge Elite after their convincing 9-1 victory against Great Lever Wanderers.

Joe Howlin and Chris Donahue led the way for the Elite team, both scoring hat-tricks with Tom McNair, Josh Nicholson netting and a rare goal from the long-serving Anthony Blears.

Kris Preston replied for the Wanderers.

After two defeats in their first two games in the league Tempest will have been feeling a lot happier on Sunday evening as they got their first three points of the season.

Tempest beat fellow newcomers to the league, Breightmet Wanderers, 4-3 in an exciting game.

The hero for Tempest was Kris Powers who got all four of their goals in a terrific first-half performance.

Breightmet tried their best to make a game of it and produced an excellent second-half performance, pulling three goals back through Marcus Makin’s brace and one from Cameron Cleary but, try as they might, they could not get the equaliser they will feel their second-half performance deserved.

A relatively low-scoring game took place at New House Farm where Nelson Wanderers were 5-2 winners against Grapes FC.

The scoreline suggests it was a comfortable victory but the phrase ‘a game of two halves’ has rarely been more apt.

Nelson Wanderers dominated the first 30 minutes and cruised into a five-goal lead with three goals coming from Elliot Miller, Ryan Fenton and Jordan Byrne their other scorers.

However, a minute before half time Grapes were awarded a penalty and Leroy West made it 5-1 at half time.

Just after the restart West scored another to make the scoreline 5-2.

Grapes had the pressure in the second half but Nelson goalkeeper Ryan Fenton produced some excellent saves to ensure his Heaton side came away with the points.