A late three-goal blitz in seven minutes saw the Bucks pick up three big points against Barwell.

The first half got off to a slow start when an issue with a sprinkler in the first minute led to a hefty delay in proceedings. And when play got back underway, there wasn’t too much by way of goalmouth action to report.

The main talking point of the half came in the 25th minute, when Harry Hawkins was sent off for a high tackle on Hickey. A good chunk of those in the ground thought it was a harsh decision, but Hawkins, whether intentional or not, caught Hickey in the chest and certainly gave the referee a decision to make. If anything, though, the red card actually saw the Bucks begin to look more dangerous – Barwell saw more of the ball, but Wilkin’s men looked the more likely scorers. An even half saw the teams go in goalless at the break.

The Canaries made a bright start to the second half, and the Bucks would have been behind were it not for Jordan Cranston’s goalline clearance in the 48th minute. Prince Mancinelli did well down the left to find Kane Richards who shot towards goal, but Cranston was there to head it away.

The momentum swung towards the Bucks in the 63rd minute though, when referee Jack Lambert chose not to award Wilkin’s men what looked like a stonewall penalty. Jordan Piggott drove into the box and was cleaned out by Highland, but the referee bizarrely didn’t see it as a foul.

Fired up by the decision, it was one-way traffic in the Bucks’ favour after that. Wilkin’s men were in front in the 74th minute when Cranston’s cross-shot went all the way in, before Ola Lawal grabbed his first goal for the Bucks just moments later to make it 2-0 – Barwell made a complete mess of a short corner, which allowed Matty Stenson to break away and square for Remi Walker, who couldn’t finish himself but nudged the ball on to Lawal to tuck home.

Jimmy Armson added the cherry on top in the 81st minute, following more great work from Stenson. The Bucks striker again ran relentlessly to track down a down into the channel, held off a defender and sat the keeper down before finding Armson, who slotted home for 3-0.

It was very comfortable in the end for the Bucks, and Wilkin will be especially pleased with the clean sheet given that his side were down to ten men for three quarters of the game. The win lifts the Bucks up to 2nd in the table.