Welwyn Garden City ended their home hoodoo in style with a comprehensive win over Stotfold.
The Citizens had won just one of the last 12 league games, six of them this season.
Their only successes had come away from HQ, three in Oxfordshire against Kidlington, North Leigh and Thame United, and then at Leighton Town.
But they put all that firmly behind them with a 3-0 success at the Pexhurst Stadium.
It was a dominant performance, that not only lifted them up to 11th in the league table but made it three successes in a row.
Weatherstone opted to leave out Dernell Wynter for this clash, starting up front with Henry Jones and Bailey Stevenson, who like Jack Vasey, back in midfield, was returning after a one match suspension.
Skipper James Mulley failed a late fitness test and along with Wynter, was included on the bench.
Stotfold, playing against WGC for the first time in seven seasons, had the best of the early chances.
WGC’s Josh Steele got in a powerful clearing header in the first five minutes, but the home defence hesitated in clearing and the ball dropped to Stotfold’s Henry Snee, who lifted an acceptable early chance over.
Brad Wadkins slipped over in midfield and presented the ball to Stotfold skipper Callum Donnelly, who played Snee clean through, but WGC keeper Charlie Crowley did well, standing tall and forced the Stotfold forward to go around him.
Snee lost balance and control of the ball, that ran harmlessly away and his second chance of the opening 10 minutes was lost.
From that point though, WGC settled and ex-City full-back Lewis Franklin was forced to haul Cyrus Babaie down, when the home forward threatened to outrun him.
From the free-kick, Stevenson blasted a powerful effort goalward that Stotfold keeper Archie Bonfield was forced to push away at full length. When the ball was returned to the area, Steele got in a looping header and Bonfield completed a double save, tipping that effort over.
The opening goal came on 24 minutes from the penalty spot.
They had pressed throughout the middle of the half and when Vasey’s corner was headed out to the edge of the area, James Kaloczi attempted to retrieve it, only to be bundled over.
Stevenson crashed in a powerful spot-kick to put the Citizens ahead.
Five minutes later, another Vasey corner produced another spot-kick.
This time it went to the edge of the area, Stevenson attempted to lift it back in, but inexplicably Stotfold’s Donnelly punched the ball as it went over him.
Again Stevenson supplied an unstoppable effort to double WGC’s lead inside 30 minutes.
Stotfold did respond with an equally powerful free-kick from Snee before the break but that clipped the bar on its way over.
The second-half had a slow start and there was little goalmouth action until Stevenson squandered a chance of a hat-trick with a weak header straight at Bonfield.
Wynter replaced the two goal man on the hour, WGC’s first change of the afternoon, and shortly after he put them three-up.
The goal though owed everything to a tremendous bit of work from Babaie.
He chased what seemed to be a lost cause as the ball looked set to go out down the WGC left.
His pace enable him to catch it, keep it in play, slip around a Stotfold defender and pull it back for the incoming Wynter, who drove it low past Bonfield.
The points had looked in the bag for City since the opening goal but the third ended the fight from Stotfold and continues Welwyn's improved form.
WGC: Crowley, Harris, Kaloczi, Steele, Bryant, Vasey (Mulley 80), Soulya-Osekanongo, Wadkins, Stevenson (Wynter 59), Jones, Babaie (Jordan 74).
Subs (not used): Brown, Baker.
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