HAT-TRICK hero Joey Roberts booked Congleton a second round place in the Cheshire Senior Cup with a brilliant display against Runcorn in front of home fans.

His terrific trio came in a breathtaking half hour-spell to wreck Runcorn's chances in the mid-week replay of a drawn cup clash three days earlier.

Congleton's superb 3-1 victory landed them a plum tie at home to Vauxhall Conference neighbours Macclesfield Town on November 19.

Super striker Roberts opened his account after just eight minutes with a shot from close range, and doubled his tally on 20 minutes when he bent a free kick from the edge of the box round the defensive wall.

Runcorn pulled one back with a header from a corner just 60 seconds later, but five minutes before the break Roberts hit his third with a header after connecting with a cross from Darren Washington.

Lack of concentration cost Congleton dear on Saturday, when they conceded a last-gasp equaliser at lowly Gretna.

Congleton took the lead with just 20 minutes left from the head of midfielder Tony McCluskie, who connected with a corner by Chris Adams.

But Gretna grabbed a point in the dying seconds, when, with the game two minutes into injury time, a home player nipped between two Congleton defenders to head home a corner.

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