As 2-0 wins go, this was as comfortable as it gets as Matlock brushed aside their hosts at the Tech 5 Stadium on Tuesday night for a second win and clean sheet on the trot.
Tyeisse Nightingale on 17 minutes and captain James Lukic on 76 grabbed the goals which were scruffy efforts, but there was no doubt that the Gladiators deserved their slice of good fortune on both occasions. Had they taken their chances in the second half, the winning margin could have been by six or seven.
Matlock were unchanged from the starting line up against Kendal against a Frickley side, who like Matlock, had won one, drawn one and lost one in their opening three outings.
Nightingale looked lively early on linking sweetly with Ian Holmes, the former Hucknall striker beating James Kay quite easily on the right to win a corner when his low centre was stabbed behind by Stuart Ludlam.
Home skipper Michael Simpkins was booked for dissent on 11 minutes, a booking that would prove to be more costly by the 63rd minute when he barged Nightingale off the ball and received his marching orders for a second yellow card.
But after another NIGHTINGALE cross hit firstly Ludlam and then Lee Whittington before ricocheting out for a goal kick, he put the Gladiators in front. A testing low cross from Chris Bettney narrowly eluded the onrushing Whittington, but NIGHTINGALE picked up the pieces to hammer goalwards with home custodian Adam Billard helping the shot over the line.
Kay was booked for a terrible tackle on Nightingale before both Mark Whitehouse and Micky Harcourt joined them after clashing following a late tackle by the Frickley winger.
A fierce looking Bettney drive was deflected past the back post, before the half ended with Jon Kennedy gathering a low cross from Whitehouse and Harcourt nodding a long looping Ludlam cross behind for an unproductive flag kick.
After the break, Matlock stepped on the gas and between the 55th and 64th minute, they could have scored five times. The purple patch started when Holmes powered a shot towards the near post which Billard blocked and then a combination of the goalkeeper and Kay desperately diverted Nightingale's follow up over the bar. Nightingale then broke at pace and squared to Holmes who really ought to have burst the net instead of sidefooting relatively tamely at Billard.
Bettney then curled a peach of a free kick over the wall and against Billard's right hand post, before driving first time at Billard. From the Bettney free kick after Simpkins' dismisal, the ball again hit the woodwork, rebounding off the bar.
Frickley were hanging on and Liam King, tremendous alongside gareth Davies at the heart of the midfield, pushed an effort wide after leaving his marker for dead.
When the second goal arrived it had more than a touch of good fortune about it, but Town had probably deserved it. Nathan Joynes had only been on the field for a minute but his presence unsettled an already shaky defence, and LUKIC's shot was a tackle as well, the ball looping high off his opponent and dropping over a stranded Billard.
Towards the end King drove at Billard who saved brilliantly from Bettney before Matlock's one hairy moment came when Kennedy excelled to tip a long range shot from Danny Walsh on to the top of the bar.
It had been a professional show from Matlock who dictated proceedings from the start to the finish.
MATLOCK TOWN: Jon Kennedy, Micky Harcourt, Lee Featherstone, Liam King, Adam Yates, James Lukic, Chris Bettney (James Knowles 86), Tyeisse Nightingale (Nathan Joynes 75), Ian Holmes, Gareth Davies, Lee Whittington (Kris Bowler 59) Other subs: Steve Warne, Nick Buxton
REFEREE: P Cook--Hull ATTENDANCE: 275 STAR MAN: Liam King
