SAM Wakefield scored a hat-trick when Middlewich secured a place in the JA Walton Challenge Cup last eight on Saturday.

The Witches, seeking to recover at the first attempt following an agonising defeat after a penalty shoot-out in the Cheshire FA Amateur Cup seven days earlier, dominated against lower-ranked hosts.

Chris Lunn fired into the bottom-corner to put them in front before Wakefield, their leading-scorer, ran up a treble.

He claimed two of those before the break before adding another early in the second-half with a stylish strike.

Chris Downey converted a penalty for Orford after he had been tripped by Dan Clawson before Jamie Petrie, from Geoff Basford’s pass, added his name to a growing list of Middlewich scorers.

Dean Burgess blasted a sixth goal for the visitors from the spot, and Downey doubled his penalties tally at the other end after Clawson had erred again.

Substitute Philip Jones scored for Orford too from a corner before another replacement, George Hopkins, completed the scoring from another penalty late on.

The Witches will host Halebank in the quarter-finals next month.

“We picked up where we’d left off last week,” reflected co-manager Ross Speight.

“I felt we were in control for long periods, and our performance was pleasing.

“The lads have worked hard to still be in contention to win two knockout competitions, as well as the Cheshire League One title, and our job now is to turn that into a successful end to the campaign.”

Town | Masters (GK), Twite, McKay, Basford, Burgess, Clawson, Wakefield, Adamczyk, Lunn, Devaney, Petrie Subs (all used) Parkinson, Hopkins, Carslake, Mitch Weedall, Smith