SPENNYMOOR TOWN put the threat of the coronavirus to one side to climb back into the National League North play-off places with a comfortable 4-0 win over Hereford United.

Despite being expected to play at Brewery Field when the Premier League, EFL and even the majority of grassroots football was suspended because of the virus, Jason Ainsley’s Moor side turned in a professional performance.

There was a decent crowd of 1,259 inside the County Durham venue to see the victory, on a day when Spennymoor’s PA announcer encouraged everyone inside the ground to use the soap in the toilets to regularly wash hands and the sanitisers available from an NHS stand.

Spennymoor, while stunned to be still playing the game, went about their business on the pitch in precisely the right manner, after the pre-match handshake was banned and the action underway.

Within seven minutes the home side had the lead after former Hartlepool defender Carl Magnay was brought down in the area. Top scorer and skipper Glen Taylor struck a perfect penalty low and beyond Brandon Hall’s outstretched diving right hand.

After Hall had also denied James Roberts after his direct run and shot from a tight angle, Spennymoor created and grabbed a brilliantly worked second.

The excellent full-back Tyler Forbes, becoming a regular at finding the net, started the move with a ball into the corner for Rob Ramshaw before finishing it by acrobatically volleying Roberts’ delivery into the centre of the box.

That was after 21 minutes and the nearest Hereford came to pulling one back before the third was just after half-time when striker Lennell John-Lewis was denied by an incredible Forbes block at the back post.

And a few minutes later it was three when midfielder Mark Anderson just moved clear of his marker to nod Ramshaw’s cross inside the bottom right corner nine minutes after half-time.

There was a couple of scares for Spennymoor goalkeeper Dale Eve, and a few strong saves to make, but Spennymoor were mainly in command.

They would have had a fourth earlier too but for some fine defending when a header from ex-Boro, Hartlepool and Darlington midfielder Jason Kennedy was cleared off the line. Ramshaw had two more attempts blocked too from the rebound.

And then with two minutes remaining Taylor did complete the win with his second when he powered a low finish beyond the keeper after Nathan Buddle’s long ball sent him through.

Spennymoor: Eve; Forbes, Magnay, Buddle, Brogan; Kennedy (Hindson 89), Henry; Roberts (Cogdon 84), Ramshaw, Anderson (Boyes 84); Taylor. Subs (not used): Mason, Gould.

Hereford: Hall, Hodgkiss, Cullinane-Liburd, Pollock (Finn 56), Pope, Riley, O’Sullivan, Jagger-Cane, John-Lewis, Mooney (Ash 68), Owen-Evans. Subs (not used): Liburd, Thomas, Davies.