It took 61 minutes for the deadlock to be broken as Cooper-Clark grabbed his first of the game, receving a long ball from Tom Nugent and shrugging off his man before finishing superbly to give the visitors the lead.

The second goal came in the 86th minute as Cooper-Clark sealed the win with a tap in from less than a yard after Chris Grace in the Ascot goal had dropped a long free-kick.

It was 3-0 in the first minute of added time as the Robins hitman made it eight goals in six games with a superb finish across Grace to grab his third and condemn the Yellamen to a second heavy home defeat of the season.

Robins boss Ed Carpenter was delighted with his side’s performance, and said the result will make people sit up and take notice of Bracknell.

He told the News: “If you were here as a neutral and watched that then there was only one team who looked favourites for the league and it wasn’t Ascot United.

“We said to first and foremost play like a local derby and get in their faces, hustle them then it’ll give us confidence to play our football, and I don’t think 3-0 was flattering at all, we totally deserved that.

“That’ll open a few people’s eyes when they check the results. They’ll look at the score and be shocked but we want to make sure we build on that and results like that don’t come as a surprise in future.

“We turned up with 12 players and those boys stuck together and did themselves proud. The boys who let us down at late notice will have to work very hard to get back into this team.” It was a wet day at the Racecourse and chances were limited in a first-half that was not short on endeavour and hard work but lacking in quality, with the weather affecting both sides.

Cooper-Clark was at the centre of the first incident of note though, as he headed Martin Bradshaw’s cross beyond Grace onto the post in the 13th minute.

The ball rolled along the line before Grace retrieved it but despite appeals from the Bracknell players and supporters, the referee decided it hadn’t crossed the line and waved play on.

The lively Jamie Lawler then saw his goal ruled out for offside, but it was the right call from the official.

The Yellamen went close towards the end of the half when Ian Brooks’ deflected effort forced James Hawtree into a save, but it was an even first-half and both sides went in level at the break.

However, it was the visitors who came out firing in the second-half and were instantly on the front foot as they searched for an opener.

Lawler went close when he fired at Grace, but with the Robins in the ascendency, it was a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.

And it came in the 61st minute when Nugent played a long ball to Cooper-Clark, who beat Alex Rodrigues to it and finished across Grace into the bottom left-hand corner to give the Robins the lead.

It was deserved but brought the Yellamen to life as they poured forward looking for an equaliser, with Leon Yarnie at the centre of the Yellamen’s attacks.

But Bracknell stood strong in defence and were first to everything, forcing Ascot to shoot from distance which failed to test Hawtree.

And Carpetner’s men looked a threat on the counter as they broke with pace and seemed the more likely side to grab the second goal.

It came in the 86th minute when Grace snatched at a routine free-kick, allowing Cooper-Clark to stab the loose ball home from a yard out.

And there was still time for the talisman to grab his third of the game as he brought down Bradshaw’s cross with a fine touch and spun his marker to fire across Grace and seal his richly deserved hat-trick.

Bracknell will look to build on their win when they host Reading Town at Larges Larges this Saturday (3pm), while Ascot United are in FA Cup action at Bishops Cleeve on the same day (3pm).