NATHAN Minhas scored a hat-trick and Dan Price added a wonder-goal as Ascot United produced a scintillating performance to beat Holmer Green 4-0 in the Hellenic League Premier Division on Tuesday.

The Yellamen were simply too hot to handle in a high-tempo performance which was a perfect response to their FA Vase exist to Tadley Calleva three days earlier.

The visitors were targetting a double over Ascot to have any chance of doing that, having already beaten them on their turf just three weeks earlier, but it was Jamie Tompkins' Yellamen who climbed to third place in the early-season standings.

The first half was arguably the best 45 minutes the home side had produced all season. Energetic, creative, vibrant – all words fitting of a superb display – and one in which visiting ‘keeper Aaron Brown also produced heroics to restrict the scoreline to two-nil at the break.

After a quiet opening where the first chance had fallen to the visitors – defender Dean Munday unable to get enough on his free header to trouble Sam Gray – the hosts clicked into gear to devastating effect.

Callum Carlisle’s speculative effort from well outside the area brought an unorthodox save from the feet of Brown, but moments later Minhas would plant a precise shot into the top left after Price had teed him up.

Jonny Denton placed a free-kick just over before a fabulous move involving Minhas, Jean-Claude Etienne and Price brought an equally fine save from Brown from the latter’s close-range shot.

The home side fashioned another fine move on 41 minutes – this time Minhas, George Lock and Price all moved the ball quickly – leading to Denton forcing a full stretch save from Brown from a rare right-footed effort.

And, just as the visitors thought they’d escaped one-goal in arrears, defender Ryan Parsons handled in the penalty area and Minhas stepped up to roll the spot kick into the bottom right, taking his goal-a-game ratio to one-and-a-half.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first – Munday heading over for Holmer Green from a Curtis Stone free kick, but normal service was resumed on the hour mark when Minhas rolled in after Price’s shot had struck a defender and landed kindly at his feet.

Man-of-the-match Price then added the goal of the night with a fine solo effort, spinning away from his marker, driving into the box and arrowing a delicious effort across Brown and into the top right hand corner from the left wing.

Munday planted another header wide from a corner with the Yellamen temporarily down to ten men following injury to Louis Bouwers, before Martin Lancaster wasted the visitors’ best chance late-on when he hooked wide when well placed.

Minhas might have scored his fourth between those efforts with a predatory snap-shot that rolled just wide, but that really would have been an outrageous goal for the hosts’ hot-shot.

Against Tadley, the Yellamen were made to pay for missed chances in a 3-1 defeat.

They were also out of luck in the 14th minute when Minhas saw his left-footed volley strike the right-hand post and scrambled clear.

Ascot fell behind in the second half to a close-range goal from Danny Vickers following a corner.

Minhas continued to be a threat and it was he who equalised on 68 minutes from a chance set up by Dan Price.

However, Ascot's failure to deal with set pieces proved costly again.

A corner led to Brett Denham restoring the home side's lead and the same player put the issue beyond doubt in stoppage time.

Ascot United travel to Longlevens tomorrow (Saturday, 3pm) and Abingdon United on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Josh Hill and Liam Whyte scored for Virginia Water as they became the first team to take a point off Hellenic League Premier Division leaders Wantage Town in a 2-2 draw.

Waters host Royal Wootton Bassett on Tuesday evening (7.45pm).