CHRIS Venables fired a hat-trick as Bala Town rediscovered their scoring form with a superb 5-1 midweek win at Cymru Alliance side Flint Town United in the Nathanial Cars MG Cup.

Flint were still in the game until the closing stages, but the Lakesiders’ class told in the end as they hit them with four goals in the last 20 minutes to seal victory.

The game was played at a high tempo throughout, and the Lakesiders started well with Mike Hayes breaking down the wing and seeing his chance cleared away.

Bala were missing eight players from their squad through injuries, but striker Lee Hunt made his first start of the season and he got on the end of Venables’ cross early on, only for the goalkeeper to save well.

Flint, who are flying high in third position in the Alliance, were always a threat, however, and Richie Foulkes had an effort blocked.

Yet their cause was dealt a blow on 12 minutes, when skipper Mark Cadwallader had to leave the field with a groin strain.

Bala’s Mark Connolly was also forced off with an injury after quarter of an hour, to be replaced by Tony Davies, who had also not yet featured for Town this season.

A break by Hayes saw a superb last-ditch tackle by Ieuan Hewitt to stop him in his tracks, before Stephens’ cross was stuck inches wide by Hunt.

Flint replied with an effort of their own just before the half hour mark, when Danny Sullivan hit a 20 yard effort that stung the hands of Bala keeper Alex Lynch.

Bala, however, had the ball in the net after 35 minutes when Stephens delivery was pounced on by Hayes - but he was deemed offside by the linesman.

With 10 minutes to go to the break, Bala broke the deadlock with a goal that had an element of luck about it.

Nathan Burke found Chris Venables with a good pass, and his shot hit the post, before rebounding back and deflecting off the back of keeper Ben Jones and into the net.

Flint nearly hit back from the restart, when a quick move down the right saw Arkadiusz Piskorski lay the ball to an unmarked James Hooper, but he fired over from eight yards.

At the other end Nathan Burke curled over an effort over from 25 yard, but after half-time, Flint had a very good spell.

Joe Culshaw played in Piskorski, but having turned his man he took an extra touch that allowed the defender to recover and clear the danger.

Then on 50 minutes Venables struck a powerful free-kick that the keeper first parried and then blocked the follow up with his feet whilst on the ground - before his defence hacked away the danger.

The game became a typical full-blooded cup tie and provided plenty of entertainment for the 250-strong crowd.

Flint’s Johhny Hill put in a cross onto the head of Piskorski, but his effort went wide, and then keeper Alex Lynch pulled off a tremendous save to deny Hooper.

The Flint forward had embarked on a 20 yard run with the ball, before side-stepping a defender and hitting a curling 25 yard effort - but Lynch, at full stretch, managed to get one hand on the ball to tip it around the post.

This proved to be a turning point, and having weathered the Flint pressure, Bala stepped up a gear.

Within 10 minutes the Lakesiders had managed to turn the game on it’s head with three goals in seven minutes.

When Hayes ran at the static defensive back-line, following Venables’ defence-splitting through ball, he was able to slot into an empty net.

Then a slick passage of play saw Venables’ cross find Hunt unmarked and, as Flint’s defence appealed for offside, he tucked the ball into the net.

Bala made it 4-0 when another good break from the Lakesiders saw Ryan Valentine swing in a pin-point ball to the back post for Venables to turn the ball in from two yards.

On 81 minutes, however, Bala’s Tony Davies bundled over a forward and referee Nick Pratt pointed to the penalty spot.

Foulkes stepped up and converted the consolation goal for the Cymru Alliance outfit.

It was that man Venables, however, who had the final say as he topped off an excellent evening for the Lakesiders when he beat the offside trap and drove a bullet of a strike into the top left of the goal for 5-1.

FLINT: B Jones, J Hill, J Culshaw, S Cunningham, J Davies, I Hewitt, D Sullivan (N Dawson 86), J Hooper, R Foulkes, M Cadwallader (c) (A Piskorski 12), L Tyson (J Palmer 69). Unused Subs: R Coney, C Hughes

BALA TOWN: A Lynch, R Valentine, A Stephens, S Jones, C Murtagh, M Connolly (T Davies 20), M Hayes, C Venables, L Owens, L Hunt (K Lunt 82), N Burke. Unused Subs: I Sheridan, S Fisher.