Salisbury City romped to victory in a fantastic attacking display that saw them put seven past Halesowen Town.

City attacked from the off and were ahead after only 3 minutes. Kayne McLaggon was found wide on the left following a great long ball from Darrell Clarke. The striker played a neat one-two with Adam Kelly and was unleashed into the opposition box where he duly slotted into the net. 1-0 Salisbury.

Buoyed by a great start the Whites tore forward with quick passing that had the opposition on the back foot. Ben Adelsbury broke through after a good exchange with Kyle Haynes and the midfield man finished well. The goal ruled out as another Whites player was adjudged offside.

Following several more good chances, the Whites gained the second goal they deserved. McLaggon again the scorer, this time linking sharply with his Manager Clarke to tear into the box and finish past the keeper in a move very similar to the first strike. 2-0 Salisbury.

Salisbury were in no mood to let up and the third came soon after. Clarke hit a low corner into McLaggon and his shot deflected up into the box. Jake Reid reacted quickest and stabbed at the goal only to hit the bar but skipper Chris Giles was on hand to head into an empty net. 3-0 Salisbury and the Whites were enjoying the most one-sided 45 minutes experienced this season.

The second half brought more of the same but the relentless attacking took time to materialise and it was the away side’s turn to strike. When Josh Casey was adjudged to have fouled midway into the Whites half, a lofted free kick caught Salisbury off guard and allowed Blue midfielder Ruben Izquierdo to round Tommy Smith to score. 3-1.

The goal acted as a wake up call as, almost instantly, it was four. Released wide on the right, Jake Reid’s pace exposed the blue back line, with the striker bursting into the area to slot home with a low finish. 4-1 Salisbury.

From then on, the Whites attacked ruthlessly and it was the Gaffers turn to get on the scoresheet. Jake Reid was in lively mood and it was his good work on the left side of the penalty area to cut to the by-line and square low for Clarke to side foot in. 5-1 Salisbury.

Introduced from the bench, Charlie Knight and Dan Fitchett were prominent as the Whites wreaked continual havoc to a Halesowen side that were struggling to handle non-stop attacking.  Both substitutes linked well to allow Knight to jink inside the box and past his man – only to see his shot hit the post.

Kayne then put Fitchett through and the striker found himself one on one. His low finish was well saved by Halesowen goalkeeper Bussey who, despite the number conceded, was having a fantastic game.  The ball came out to Jake Reid and the striker looked certain for his second – but struck wide!

With more goal line clearances, narrowly wide shots, and backs to the wall defending, the match remained heavily one sided. Loan striker Fitchett got the goal his sharp running deserved when his pace allowed him to reach a through ball first and tuck past an on-rushing keeper for his first goal at the Ray Mac. 6-1 Salisbury.

It would have been easy to feel sorry for a Halesowen side who were in despair and could do little to stop an attacking onslaught. Only able to name just two substitutes, their reserve goalkeeper was brought on outfield. The substitution initially rejected by the referee as he demanded the substitute change his socks to those of an outfield player!

The Whites were in no mood for sympathy however and continued to charge forward at every opportunity. It was sumptuous passing and break-neck pace by a side who simply showed themselves to be a class above. Were it not for several great saves from the Halesowen keeper, the score could quite legitimately have reached double figures.

Salisbury got their seventh and final strike with their 42nd effort on goal. Adam Kelly cut inside his man from the wide right, switched the ball onto his left foot and finished well past the keeper.

7-1 it finished in a result that far from flattered after a devastating attacking display. A memorable evening at the Ray Mac only slightly marred by an injury to Kayne McLaggon with almost the last kick of the game. The lively striker had to be carried off of the pitch,

The Whites are now just two points behind leaders Truro with a game in hand ahead of this weekend’s home match against Tiverton.