PHIL Simkin described Nathan Walker as a "lethal weapon" after the Hamworthy United skipper again netted for his side.

Walker, who is a towering presence in central defence, demonstrated his aerial prowess in the opposing penalty area by notching yet another headed goal to open the scoring on Saturday.

Warren Byerley and Carl Mutch were also on target as Simkin's side recorded a win over bottom-of-the-table Downton to move up to 11th in the Wessex Premier Division.

Simkin revealed his players had to work hard for the victory against the basement boys.

He said: "We got into a decent rhythm but, to be fair, they're not bad. They've got a good spirit, defended well and it took 25 minutes to break them down.

"We lost our shape a bit and they had a spell and got one back then had a go.

"But we missed a lot of chances and scored a third five minutes from the end. But they gave us a hard game.

"There's no easy games in this league and that proved to be the case."

Hammers are still playing catch-up in terms of matches played in the league because of their cup exploits. They have a number of games in hand on the teams above them.

"We've got to get points on the board," said Simkin.

"We've got a lot of games in hand. We'll keep knocking them off and see where we are about Christmas time."

Hamworthy United: Peters, Gilbert, Dovell, Horlock, Walker, Dean (Middleton 70), Legg, Hubbard, Swann (Mutch 45), Byerley, Jackson (Connet 75).