Manager Ollie Drake admitted a thumping Saturday success came at the perfect time for Godmanchester Rovers.

Arran Mackay hit a hat-trick as the local side beat Long Melford 5-0 at the David Wilson Homes Ground to record a second Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division win of the campaign.

The drubbing also featured goals from Zac Knight-Percival and Ben Yeomans, and left Drake in upbeat mood heading into a busy spell of fixtures.

Rovers are back on home turf tonight (Wednesday) when they entertain title hopefuls Newmarket Town ahead of a Saturday trip to bottom side Kirkley & Pakefield.

And they are back on the road again on Tuesday when facing Ely City in a Cambridgeshire derby clash.

“The result and performance last Saturday were just what we needed,” said Drake.

“We adopted a different gameplan and the players implemented it perfectly.

“It was great to see us scoring some very good team goals and it was fantastic to get a clean sheet because the number and manner of the goals we’ve conceded this season have been disappointing.

“We know Newmarket will be a really tough test but we can go into the game with confidence after a good win.

“Kirkley are bottom but I’m told they shouldn’t really be in that position and I know all about the strong togetherness that Ely have. We’ll need to match that to get anything there.”

Drake is keen to bolster his defensive options after Elkanah Sibanda was ruled out for six weeks with a knee problem.