CALLY Stewart scored a second-half hat-trick to lift Leamington into the play-off places following a 4-1 victory against struggling Oxford City.
Stewart became the first Brakes player to score a treble in the National League North since 2019 after Dan Meredith opened the scoring at the Your Co-op Community Stadium.
The result means Leamington sit sixth in the National League North table, five points behind leaders Scunthorpe United.
Paul Holleran’s side broke the deadlock on 31 minutes when Meredith poked the ball past Rylee Mitchell from Anthony Lynn’s clever backheel.
And the Brakes doubled their lead on 59 minutes as Stewart scampered towards goal only for Jacob Roddy to foul the forward as he cut inside in the box.
Stewart picked himself up to score the resulting penalty and extend the home side’s lead.
And Stewart struck again seven minutes later to all but secure the points when he finished into an empty net following a defensive mix up between Roddy and goalkeeper Mitchell.
Oxford reduced the deficit on 81 minutes when Zac McEachran’s deflected effort left Hawkins with no chance.
However, Stewart completed his hat-trick in the final minute when he picked out the corner of the goal from Tim Berridge’s square pass.
Leamington are next in action against Harborough Town in the FA Cup on Saturday, September 28 with kick-off at 3pm at Bowden Park.
