JAMIE Petrie scored a hat-trick for Middlewich Town in a 5-2 win at Denton that sent them up to fourth in the Cheshire League’s top-flight.

Scott Twite’s header had put the Witches ahead inside six minutes while James Smith bagged their final goal midway through the second-half after Petrie’s penalty-kick was saved.

They have now won four of their five away matches since being promoted back to the Premier Division.

Lostock Gralam cruised to the JA Walton Challenge Cup quarter-finals after putting five goals without reply past League One rivals Grappenhall Sports at Park Stadium.

The Grey Lambs had five different scorers too in Charlie Hatton, James Dean, Alex Wilson, Myles Wady and Dean Clarke.

Cuddington endured an afternoon to forget when they lost a tetchy encounter with Club AZ in League Two.

Adam Bettley and Max Linaker netted for Gareth Harwood’s men in a 5-2 reverse at Norley Road that represented a missed opportunity to take top spot from Maine Road reserves.

“It wasn’t a good day for us,” rued the manager afterwards.

“We had players missing and a bad warm-up set the tone.”

Teenager Tom Smith bagged a brace for Middlewich’s reserves when they secured a semi-finals spot in the Reserves Division Challenge Cup following a 4-1 win at Broadheath Central.

Tom Brain and Danny Martin were on target too for the visitors.

Performance of the week

Middlewich Town

The Witches needed to respond following a disappointing early exit from the Cheshire FA Amateur Cup.

They did, and led 2-0 inside eight minutes at Denton.

Player of the week

Jamie Petrie (Middlewich Town)

A captain needs to lead by example and his hat-trick was a highlight of the Witches’ victory.

It was another good week for…

Lostock Gralam

The Grey Lambs turned their attention to a different competition, but the result was a familiar one.

A crushing 5-0 win against Grappenhall in the JA Walton Challenge Cup second round means they have lost only one of their past 13 matches.

Stat of the week

Middlewich Town’s reserves have won eight successive matches in league and cup, scoring 37 goals

Quote of the week

“We’ve allowed our standards to slip in the past few weeks but looked more like our old selves.”

Michael Welch

Co-manager, Middlewich Town