Anton Fountain returned between the sticks for Cardea after missing the last six weeks recovering from an appendix operation. The three centre backs were Tom Rimes, Michael Williams and Dale Moore with Kynan Bereznyckyj and Ryan Moore playing as wing backs.

The central midfield consisted of captain Daryl Patrick, Shane Cooke and Gav Earl. Daniel Robinson and Luke Penman started up front with Michael Creek on the bench.

The chances were shared in the first 20 minutes with both Cooke and Penman shooting wide for Cardea and a free header being missed by Walnut Tree from a free kick. Tom Rimes and the Walnut Tree forward were also booked for an altercation.

Cardea broke the deadlock in the 21st minute. Luke Penman curled a corner into the box and Rimes headed the ball past the keeper to give Cardea the early advantage.

Penman had a couple of chances to double the lead in the 10 minutes after the goal, however his first attempt was well saved by the keeper and his second effort went wide of the goal.

The keepers were on top after the half hour mark as well. Firstly Fountain made a good save to deny Walnut Tree an equaliser and up the other end Patrick was thwarted by a good save.

Cardea grabbed their second with five minutes to go before half time. Dale Moore started the move with a great ball down the line for Patrick who found Penman and he slotted home.

In the next phase of play Cardea added a third. Penman won the ball back and passed to Patrick and this time he played in Cooke who finished superbly to make it 3-0 at half time.

After the break Walnut Tree grabbed a goal back when their striker went around Fountain and crossed it to the right midfielder who did well to beat a couple of defenders on the line.

Cardea restored their three goal cushion mid way through the second half and it was Penman to scored it. The move started from the back with a good save from Fountain, his throw out was cut out by a defender but they took to long on the ball and Penman put the pressure on, won the ball and nipped in to score the forth.

Michael Creek came on for Robinson and showed off his crazy feet and good skills to bamboozle the Walnut Tree defence, he nearly grabbed a goal with a cheeky lob but the Walnut Tree keeper was equal to it. The keeper also did well to stop a good shot from Ryan Moore. Shane Cooke was also booked for being a potty mouth!!

The last five minutes were a bit frantic for Cardea as they allowed Walnut Tree back into the game. The away team scored a couple of late goals to give the score a more flattering look for them but Cardea held on for the victory.

Despite the late drama Cardea were comfortable for much of the match and should have scored a few more goals but winning the three points was the ultimate goal. The points take Cardea up to second in the league, 3 points behind Premiair but with 2 games in hand.

Gav Earl was awarded man of the match for a controlled performance in midfield, winning tackles and distributing the ball to his team mates well.

After the game joint manager Kev Webster said: "I thought the attitude was spot on today, kept calm and didn't rise to their level and that annoyed them the most. The goal was scored at the right time and we never really looked under too much pressure.

"I think at 4-1 some errors were made but that was as a team and management included. We learn from these mistakes as a team and next time we won't allow them to get back in the game. We won ugly today but that's a sign of a good team. Well done boys, let's keep this momentum going. Well played to Gav for his man of the match performance."

Craig Robinson added: "It was a good performance from start to finish, we dominated and we should have been more ahead at the break. A sloppy last 5 almost cost us but the end result flattered them."

Cardea FC take on AFC Bretton next week at Bretton Park as their title challenge continues.