OWEN James scored a hat-trick as Stratford Town cruised to a 4-1 victory against Barwell. The result lifts Stratford out of the Southern League Premier Central relegation zone with the Bards 16th in the table. Stratford broke the deadlock on 21 minutes when James rose unmarked to nod home Fin Brennan’s cross from the left. And James struck again three minutes later as he jinked his way through the Barwell defence before finding the net. And James completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot on 77 minutes to seal the points after he drew a foul in the box and duly dispatched the resulting spot kick.