Nelson 2 Trafford 4

12:31pm Monday 17th March 2008

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A SPIRITED second-half fight-back by Nelson might well have earned them a share of the points, but for the deadly finishing of Trafford's hat-trick hero Scott Barlow.

Barlow gave the visitors the lead after 26 minutes when he rounded Billy Carrington to slot home his first goal of the afternoon.

And Harry Winter added a second for the visitors with a well-placed side-footed shot after 41 minutes.

The Blues were glad to hear the half-time whistle with their goal under pressure. But a tactical re-shuffle gave them new life in the second-half.

And a series of chances finally brought a goal for Nelson on the hour mark when Ed O'Neil's persistence made the opening for Gary Smith to lob the ball over the Trafford keeper and reduce arrears.

Within three minutes, however, Barlow slipped through the Blues defence and beat Carrington again to restore Trafford's two-goal lead.

Smith missed a great chance when he shot wide of an empty net, but Alex Mugan got Nelson's second goal with a looping header from O'Neil's cross after 84 minutes to give the Blues hope.

But Barlow popped up again to nick the ball off the home defence and tuck away a low shot to complete his hat-trick and a 4-2 win for the league leaders.