Matlock broke their winless league sequence at the ninth time of asking and it was all too easy against another out of form side who lost for the sixth successive game.
Ian Holmes scored twice with winger Ben Hunter adding a third against an awful Frickley side who ended the game with ten men following striker Ollie Ryan's 40th minute red card for elbowing Adam Yates which left the Gladiators defender with a suspected broken nose.
Kris Bowler was included in midfield at the expense of Steve Warne who dropped to the bench while Hunter was given a start, replacing the departed striker Danny davidson who was making his Coalville Town debut ten miles down the A6 at Belper. Craig Nelthorpe was given the all clear to take his place on the bench after injury and suspension.
Frickley included former Matlock winger Ryan Mallon in what had been billed as a must win game for both clubs. The visitors had announced a budget cut two days before the match.
Play was predictably scrappy in the opening exchanges, not helped by a bitter blustery wind. The ball needed to be played on the floor but with neither set of players wanting to make a mistake, it was like a hot potato, also spending too much time in the air.
Holmes had the first sniff of a chance in the 10th minute as Athletic goalkeeper Steve Dickenson held on to a good strike which was hit first time by the Matlock number nine. Lee Morris, who led the attack with style, composure and grit, flicked the ball into Holmes to create the chance.
But HOLMES would find the onion bag just two minutes later, when Hunter's hanging centre from the left was palmed out by Dickenson who lost its trajectory in the wind. Gareth Davies was on to the loose ball in a flash to square to Holmes whose low twelve yard shot beat defender Lincoln Adams on the line.
Ryan drove wide from an acute angle on the right three minutes later before there was a scramble in the Matlock penalty box in the 23rd minute following a Frickley corner. It took a while for Town to clear their lines but they did and Matlock were not troubled again in such circumstances, which was surprising given the height in the visitors line up.
There was a setback for the Gladiators when Oscar Radford limped off on the half hour, with Lee Featherstone taking over at left back. Hunter then moved on to Liam King's pass to fire just over while at the other end Kennedy was well placed to push aside Danny Walsh's shot.
A second substitution was forced on Matlock when Yates had to come off with blood oozing into a towel from his nose following the red card issued to Ryan. King had to deputise at centre back with Warne going into central midfield.
Matlock would have been reasonably happy to reach half time in front, if only by a single goal, but that would soon change as HOLMES rose to meet a Micky Harcourt cross after a quickly taken free kick to glance a header just inside Dickenson's left hand post just ninety seconds into the second half.
And Holmes could have notched a hat-trick just four minutes later on when he fired low from Davies' tremendous through pass but Dickenson saved low to his left.
The second goal had finished Frickley off. They looked deflated and short of ideas while conversely the verve and confidence that had been missing from recent Matlock performances started to return. The Gladiators passed the ball about more crisply than they had done for weeks and their third goal with twenty minutes left highlighed this to perfection.
Morris, again the focal point of the attack, superbly held up play just inside the penalty box to hold off Kelvin Bleau and guide a slide rule pass into HUNTER who advaced a few paces before drilling a low shot under Dickenson.
Nelthorpe came on for Davies two minutes later and gave the home fans a glimpse of what could be some exciting times to come. The winger sprayed passes liberally around the park, was keen to cover when Frickley had the ball and had the urge to take on opponents. And the home crowd gasped as an audacious effort from easily thirty five yards cannoned back off the post with Dickenson rooted to the spot.
Harcourt drove just over from ten yards sorter and Holmes was a couple of feet off target as Matlock finished firmly in control.
Frickley looked like relegation certainties on this form but you can only beat what is put in front of you. Suffice it to say, Matlock did a professional job and from the Gladiators viewpoint, it needs to be a springboard for further advancement, both in terms of performance and results.
MATLOCK TOWN: Jon Kennedy, Micky Harcourt, Oscar Radford (Lee Featherstone 30), Liam King, Adam Yates (Steve Warne 41), James Lukic, Gareth Davies (Craig Nelthorpe 72), Kris Bowler, Ian Holmes, Lee Morris, Ben Hunter Other subs: Scott Bibby, Nick Buxton.
REFEREE: M C Dexter--Leicester ATTENDANCE: 311 STAR MAN: Lee Morris
