After a break in league action, the Men’s 1st XI travelled to East Grinstead for a late-afternoon fixture played out under the floodlights. With only goal difference separating the three teams at the top of Division 1, the Hawks wasted little time in showing their intent to retain their spot at the summit.

Despite missing two familiar attacking threats, with Charlie Thomson absent following his drag-flicking masterclass the previous week alongside last week’s Man of the Match, Nick Browning, any suggestion that their absence might limit the Hawks' firepower was quickly put to bed, with Jack Dodds stepping up to deliver a Man of the Match performance of his own.

It took just five minutes for Dodds to open the scoring. Having worked the ball forward with some excellent team build-up play, he cut in from the right before unleashing a reverse strike from the top of the D, leaving the East Grinstead goalkeeper with little chance. His second followed soon after in almost identical fashion. Finding himself in possession at the top of the D once again, Dodds sent another reverse strike into the net to double the advantage. With two goals to his name inside the opening eight minutes, Dodds had already made his mark. The brace also propelled him into the top 10 league goalscorers for the season, joining fellow Hawks Nick Browning and skipper Freddie Martin as some of the division’s leading marksmen.

The goals kept coming, with Harvey Nelson finding the net in the 16th minute to extend the advantage to three and put the visitors firmly in the driving seat. Freddie Martin added a fourth in the 29th minute, ensuring the Hawks went into half-time with a healthy cushion while also keeping his goal tally for the season ticking over nicely.

A far less eventful second half ensued, with Jorden Thorne eventually rounding off the scoring in the 53rd minute. Having seen a number of his earlier efforts agonisingly close to finding the net, Thorne finally got his reward. His strike from an acute angle, aided by a glancing deflection off an East Grinstead defender, wrong-footed the young goalkeeper and found its way over the line. Perhaps not quite the finish he had envisaged, but one his efforts thoroughly deserved after a determined afternoon in front of goal.

Much of the Hawks’ dominance stemmed from the middle of the park, where Alex Law once again demonstrated exactly why he is such a key part of this side. Dictating the tempo throughout, Law controlled the midfield battle, helping the Hawks maintain possession, move the ball with purpose and keep East Grinstead chasing shadows.

Joe Jones was equally influential, pulling strings and providing a constant creative threat. One particular moment summed up his afternoon perfectly towards the end of the match. With the Hawks in possession on their baseline, the back four were scrambling to provide Jones with an outlet, but Jones had other ideas. Taking on three defenders in succession, he proceeded to waltz his way through alone, call out "see you later lads" as he went by, and leaving the home supporters wondering quite what had happened.

Speaking after the game, Man of the Match Dodds was quick to praise the team. "It’s always nice to get a couple of goals and I’m delighted to pick up Man of the Match, but this was a huge performance for us as a team. We moved the ball brilliantly today, created plenty of chances and everyone played their part. We obviously had a massive result a few weeks ago, winning 11-0, but that means nothing if you can't back it up week after week. And we did that today. It’s a great result and we're all determined to keep this going."

A comprehensive 5-0 victory for the Hawks, reflecting both their attacking quality and control throughout the afternoon. Five goals, a clean sheet and three valuable away points. Most importantly, the result keeps the Hawks at the top of Division 1, ensuring a very satisfying journey home from West Sussex.

The Men’s 1st XI will look to build on this performance next week against local rivals Old Georgians.

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