Hitchin Town continued their improved form in the Southern League with a comprehensive win at home to St Ives Town - a team who had themselves pulled clear of relegation with a positive sequence of results.

Callum Stead and Jake Hutchinson shared the goals in the 4-0 win at Top Field to make it four games without defeat.

And they showed no signs of rustiness with this only their second game in a month.

They had gifts showered on them from Ives, who lost for the third time in the last nine games, but the twin terrors for the Canaries were clinical whenever those opportunities came their way.

A cautious opening, as both teams felt their way into, was slowly replaced as the half headed towards its conclusion and Ives hinted at what was to follow when Dylan Williams was caught in possession by Stead.

This time Alex Brown fired over but Hitchin would go into half-time a goal to the good, Stead bringing the ball under control before turning away from Josh Flanagan and firing left footed into the bottom corner.

Ives should have equalised almost immediately but after charging down an attempted clearance and finding himself eight yards out and facing an empty net, Michael Richens somehow managed to fire past the post.

Any hoped for revival from Ives in the second half soon ebbed away, as Hitchin restarted in the same vein as the first half, before being completely destroyed in two minutes.

Stead robbed Flanagan before finding the run of Hutchinson who gave Goff no chance from just inside the box.

That was on 67 minutes and 90 seconds later the Colchester United loanee had his second and Hitchin's third, comfortably finishing off a quick counter attack from an Ives corner.

An Ethan Johnston header forced Charlie Horlock into a fine save while Nabil Shariff was just wide with a close range effort but there was to be no way back for St Ives.

And Hitchin rubbed further salt into the wounds with 12 minutes to go, Richens the man to get caught out this time as he lost possession to Steve Cawley just inside his own half, Stead taking it round Goff for the simple finish.

Hitchin remain 19th but are just six points behind Ives in 11th, part of a tightly-compacted bottom half of the table with 13 teams separated by only nine points.