NEW signing Ben Tilbury scored on his debut to fire Droitwich Spa to the top of the league table with a 4-1 victory over Gornal Athletic.
With Team Dudley out of action last Saturday, Spa took full advantage to surge two points clear at the top of West Midlands One.
Tilbury took just seven minutes to mark his arrival on a dual registration deal from Alvechurch, finding the bottom corner from inside the area after latching on to Graeme Pardoe’s pin-point throughball.
Gornal equalised midway through the first half when Ben Store capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Andy Crowther and Mike Seeley before clinically firing home.
Spa were then awarded a penalty seven minutes later when Tilbury was fouled in the box but the usually reliable Curtis Townley blazed his spot-kick over the bar.
Despite this, Spa did go into the break 2-1 to the good when Tilbury fed the ball to Brad Burgess whose low shot beat Gornal keeper Ashley Green and found the bottom corner.
The Saltmen added their third in the 89th minute when James Lemon stroked home before Haydn Morris wrapped up proceedings with goal number four in stoppage time.
Joint-boss Wayne Oliver said: “It was a hard-fought game. Gornal came with a plan and we found them very hard to break down.
“We played well in parts and finished the game strongly by nicking two goals late on.
“We were pleased with to come away with the three points and pleased with how hard the players grafted to get them.
“Being critical we could have done better in certain areas but on the whole it was a pleasing performance.”
Spa will look to consolidate their position at the top of the table on Saturday when they make the trip to Shropshire outfit Allscott.
Only Brad Burgess (ankle ligaments) and Matthew Hunt (broken ankle) will miss the trip to sixth placed Allscott.
“It’s another unknown so it’s certainly going to be an experience for us,” said Oliver.
“We may be top of the table but that means nothing until the last ball is kicked on the final day of the season.”
