In front of another all ticket sell out crowd, Parkway entertained unbeaten Cribbs looking to make it four league wins out of four.

Four changes were made from last week’s victory at Chipping Sodbury withMichael Landricombe, Matt Wright, Mikey Williams and new signing Craig Veal starting in place of Jordan Bentley, Nick Hurst, Levi Landricombe and the suspended River Allen.

Parkway made a positive start creating a couple of early chances with Harrison Davis seeing his long range shot deflected for a corner on 6 minutes with Rob Farkins glancing a far post header just wide.

Cribbs putting men behind the ball in a narrow formation looked to contain early on as Parkway dominated the early possession as they probed for an opening. Good link up play between Davis, Callum Hall and Ryan Lane on 15 minutes ended with Lane firing wide. Cribbs looking to play on the break then saw a curling effort from 25 yards by Sam Oakley fly just wide before a free kick from the angle of the 18 yard area saw Ross Mcerlain’s header go narrowly over. Parkway continued to press and switch play from flank to flank with Cribbs defending in depth and clear chances at a premium.

A flowing passage of play along the Parkway left on 22 minutes saw a Ryan Richards header saved low down by David Hill at the near post. Another break on 30 minutes saw another Richard’s header saved despite him being narrowly offside.

Cribbs continued to be difficult to break down and still offered a threat on their rare breaks forward but the Parkway defence remained in control with Farkins and Michael Landricombe dominating the aerial exchanges.

On 33 minutes a Cribbs break along the right saw a dangerous Lewis Hedges cross into the 6 yard area fail to get a final touch. Parkway continued to be patient in their build up and on 35 minutes a free kick was headed just wide by Farkins at the far post. Davis continued to cause problems down the right and on 38 minutes a mazy run saw him ghost past 3 players cut inside and see his low strike deflected for another corner. A generally dominant half by Parkway creating a few half chances with Cribbs proving resilient and hard to break down and offering the occasional threat going forward with Kyle Moore remaining relatively untested.

Parkway made a slight tweak at half time with Williams moving into midfield and Lane switching to left wing back. An early Parkway free kick saw a Lane effort comfortably saved by Hill before a route one clearance by the keeper saw Oakley cleverly judge the bouncing ball and poke his effort just wide. Parkway finally took the lead on 54 minutes. More good play by Davis down the right saw his shot deflected for a corner from which Farkins rose highest at the back post to direct a downward header through a crowd of bodies into the bottom corner.

With Parkway now playing at a much higher tempo, they almost doubled their lead on 56 minutes with Hill saving well with his legs from a well struck Williams effort. Cribbs made a double substitution shortly after with Dan Webb and Steve Murray replacing Oscar Pearce and Oakley who appeared to have taken a slight knock. Cribbs almost grabbed an equaliser on 58 minutes when they worked an opening on the edge of the 18 yard area with the previously untroubled Moore pulling off a fine save to keep Parkway ahead. Shane Krac, returning from injury, replaced the busy Hall on the hour as Parkway looked to increase the tempo and their lead which they did on 62 minutes.

A Krac drive from midfield saw him link well with Veal whose cross found Williams who turned sharply in the penalty area only to be tripped for a clear penalty which Richards calmly converted sending Hill the wrong way. On 66 minutes after a couple of lengthy periods of treatment, Hill was unable to continue and was replaced in goal by Mcerlain with Justin Hall coming on. With Parkway now firmly in control they increased their lead further on 67 minutes. A surging 60 yard run along the left by Lane saw him reach the bye line and pull the ball back to Richards who saw his initial shot blocked but hammered home the rebound.

The hard working Wright was replaced on 70 minutes by Levi Landricombe who almost made the dream start on his return to Bolitho Park. His very first touch saw him cleverly lob the keeper from 15 yards only to be adjudged narrowly, but correctly, offside. Hurst replaced Williams on 73 minutes with Cribbs continuing to play on the break and compete well as Ed Harrison created space but pulled his shot just wide on 75 minutes. However it was Parkway who increased their lead on 79 minutes.

More good build up play between Veal and Krac saw the latter’s attempt at an overhead kick drop kindly to Richards on the edge of the 18 yard area who lashed a shot low into the corner to complete his second hattrick in four games and his seventh goal of the season. On 85 minutes Veal saw his header lack power after a good cross as Parkway continued to threaten and create chances and they completed the scoring on 90 minutes. A fine long range diagonal ball from Billy Palfrey found Richards in the clear on the right and he cut in and unselfishly pulled the back to Levi Landricombe on the edge of the 18 yard whose right footed first time shot flew low into the corner.

Cribbs had a confident late shout for a penalty for handball but after consulting with his assistant, the referee awarded a corner which was deflected behind as Parkway withstood some late pressure to record their fourth victory out of four and keep another clean sheet as they returned to the top of the table. As with previous games against opposition who look to contain and defend in depth, Parkway were made to work hard for the win by a committed Cribbs outfit with their second half performances and work rate against tiring opponents being the key to their current progress. Parkway return to Bolitho Park on Tuesday for their second Devon derby of the month with Buckland Athletic the visitors when another sell out crowd is expected. Buckland dropped from first to third today after a narrow 1-0 home defeat to Cadbury Heath, their first league defeat of the season.