The injury-hit side's makeshift attack was, for once, ruthless in front of the goal – putting four past a helpless Nathan Worrell in a devastating 15-minute spell at the end of the first half.

More importantly, the Buxton defence, which had come in for some criticism of late, looked confident against the rare Fylde attacks, although the returning Scott Hartley still had to be alert to earn the club's first clean sheet of the season.

Buxton started the game well, with Knight almost storming through in the opening minutes, only to buckle under the pressure of a chasing defender with just the keeper to beat. A succession of corners followed for the home side without success, before Kieran Lugsden gave the Bucks the lead on 32 minutes, controlling a Christian Millar cross in the box and assertively hitting the back of the net.

Fylde were not ready to lie down, and Michael Barnes was unlucky when his 40-yard run ended with a powerful shot to the left of Hartley's goal.

But then the fun started. With a game of headed ping-pong in full flow, Knight, with his back to the Fylde goal, hit an audacious overhead scissor kick which the back-pedalling Worrell could only watch dip under his crossbar.

The flamboyancy of the second goal, and the striker's trademark somersault celebration, was only matched by the sheer brilliance of the third when, four minutes later, Millar launched an unstoppable 30-yard piledriver to net his first goal for the club.

With the game effectively over as a contest, Knight added a fourth on the stroke of half time, having been released by a looping ball from makeshift centre forward Tommy Agus.

The second half brought with it more chances in front of the Fylde goal. Michael Towey fired a shot straight at the keeper, while Lugsden headed over after good link-up play from Millar, Knight and Ridley.

A fifth goal was inevitable, and fittingly it was scored by Knight for his hat-trick. The striker again shrugged off the Fylde defence with ease, and had all the time in the world to taunt Worrell with the ball before chipping it over the flailing keeper as he went to ground.

Perhaps the only disappointment was that the hard-working Agus never made it onto the scoresheet. His best attempt saw him wrong-foot a Fylde defender, only to be denied by the keeper, who spread himself well.

Towards the end of the game, Hartley had to be alert to palm away a shot from forward Alex Porter, while substitute Kyle Collins missed a golden chance to make it 6-0 when he raced through on goal only to be thwarted by the Fylde keeper.

Match Report Courtesy of the Buxton Advertiser