Pope, Parish and Scott praised as Hastings United get stronger in attack

Pope took his tally for the season to 15 when he scored all the goals in Saturday’s 3-0 home beating of Corinthian that kept United clear at the top.

With eight games to go they lead closest rivals Ashford United by seven points – though Elphick is faithfully maintaining his ‘let’s take a game at a time’ mantra as they prepare for an awkward looking visit to third-placed Cray Valley PM tomorrow.

On Saturday it was all about Pope and Elphick was not surprised.

“You know what you’ll get from Ben and he is having a fantastic season,” Elphick said.

“He was flying for me at Worthing a few years back and was trialling at Premier League and Championship clubs,” said Elphick. “But he snapped his fibula and tibia and was out a long timer recovering.

The win that took Hastings nine points clear.

“That set him back but I recommended him to Chris Agutter after I came to Hastings, and he’s been brilliant for us. He’s like Wayne Rooney in a way – he’s built like an ox and is a real handful for defenders.”

And Pope seems to be striking up an immediate understanding with new man Danny Parish, even though the pair are just three games into their on-field partnership.

Phoenix give Us a scare.

“I think they’ll complement each other really well for us,” Elphick said. “They’re chalk and cheese and it’s the sort of combination I think teams will find hard to face.”

The other attacker in United’s 4-3-3 formation, Knory Scott, also had an excellent game against Corinthian and impressed Elphick, who said it was a comfortable victory.

“The first 45 minutes was the best I’ve seen from us attacking-wise since I took over. We started fast and didn’t look back.”

A stiffer test can be expected at promotion hopefuls Cray Valley – but Elphick insisted their win at the Pilot Field in his first game as boss, when they scored a controversial late winner, would not be in his thoughts.

“It’s another game we want to win but we’ll have to be at our best,” he said.

Sammy Adams is away but Marcus Goldsmith and Ryan Worrall are available again and another large away following is expected.