VAUXHALL Motors sit second in the Northern Premier League West Division after a 3-1 home win over Hanley Town on Friday night.

It was a quiet first half an hour with neither side wanting to overcommit and leave themselves exposed at the back for an easy chance on goal.

The first opportunity fell to the Motormen as Josh Quarless saw his powerful attack on goal drag wide of the mark.

Motors finally saw a shot on target after 35 minutes when Will Igoe was slipped through one on one with Jack Atkinson. Initially he hesitated to come and meet the visiting attacker. This delay might have forced Igoe into overthinking his effort as it smashed it into the chest of Vauxhall’s number one to keep the score level.

Suddenly the half burst into action as Kyle Blake was given his marching orders following a swipe on Motors captain Ben Holmes after he was initially fouled on the halfway line. The cynical kick caused a melee on the halfway line and resulted in the Hanley number four a chance to stay in the pitch.

Immediately after, the visitors were awarded a free kick on the edge of the host's penalty area. Joe Edwards lined up an angled curled effort which smashed off the bar and was then collected by Jack Atkinson who earned a barge by Finley Ryder for his troubles.

This action drew a close on a dull half which had starved both sides of meaningful opportunities on goal.

Danny Holmes' Motormen came out swinging in the second half with a barrage of crossed aimed for the centre of the Hanley Town area. The first was through Jawad Jebrin who delivered a teasing low powerful cross which found Connor Rankin, but he couldn’t manage to direct his effort on target.

The second saw another powerful cross by Vita Mbolokele into a similar position but this time nobody could get a touch to steer it home

Finally, the deadlock was broken by the hosts when Isaac Godwin pressed deep into the Hanley box and as a result Paddy Kay won the ball and beat two men before playing a one two in the area with Quarless. The cross then came in but was parried away only as far as the tall number 11 who dinked it over goalkeeper Danny Moore who found himself in no man’s land and unable to prevent the opener.

As Vauxhall rode the pressure of a Town side pushing for the equaliser in the final five minutes, Max Harrison’s breakaway saw Kevin Ellison slipped through. He was sandwiched and as a result the ball bounced through to Rankin who found himself one on one with Moore. He took it round him before slotting into an empty net to convert his second goal in as many days.

The drama didn’t end there though as moments later a corner for Hanley fell into the path of Dylan Scott at the edge of the area who smashed one into the far corner to make for an interesting final few moments.

Any hope was quickly killed off as again a run by Max Harrison saw him beat his man in the area and unleash a shot from a tight angle on the right-hand side. His effort dragged across the face of goal into a lurking Ellison who tapped into an empty net.

The visitors were unable to muster any attack in added time and as a result the whistle was blown confirming yet another victory for Vauxhall Motors.

The Motors return to action on Tuesday with another home tie versus Nantwich Town.