PADIHAM moved to within two points of NWCL Premier Division leaders Maine Road after hammered Norton 4-0 at The Arbories.

Steve Wilkes’ side bounced back from the midweek defeat to Bacup in the semi final of the Lancashire Trophy.

But Neil Stansfield put the Storks on their way to victory when he converted a through ball from Ben Allen on 11 minutes.

Allen then doubled the lead in the 22th minute when he acrobatically converted Sam Morris’ left side cross.

Padiham added a third goal when Joe Garvin’s free kick caused confusion in the area and Kieran Pickup fired beyond Richard Bramdown 10 minutes before the break.

Pickup added a fourth 20 minutes from time when he beat the keeper with a long range lob.

There were ugly scenes at the end when Norton’s Michael Marran was sent off for a dreadful tackle on Sam Morris while Padiham assistant Steve Cunningham was asked to leave the dugout after getting involved.