DANNY Davidson capped a fine all round performance with a tremendous hat-trick before substitute Ian Clarke added Matlock's fourth as the Gladiators sunk the Mariners without trace at Causeway Lane last Saturday.
Much had been made of Matlock's po
or record against the Crosby club, particularly at home, prior to the kick off, but this time there was only going to be one winner.
The present Marine were the worst side to ever represent them in the Derbyshire Dales, but that should not detract from a dominant and excellent Matlock display.
The hosts were in control from the first whistle to the last, to earn a priceless victory which hauled them out of the bottom four relegation slots.
Dene Cropper was out with a knee injury exacerbated in training on Thursday so Davidson was the obvious replacement.
Manager Mark Atkins, not consulted for managerial advice by new Newcastle boss and close friend Alan Shearer following his temporary appointment at St James Park, also brought back Jamie Jackson on the right flank, and more surprisingly, Scott Brough at full back, with Adam Yates and Matty Thorpe standing down.
Marine pushed Matlock back for all of five minutes, but then the Gladiators found a grip on the match which they would never relinquish.
Their first noteworthy surge saw Paul Riley's cross from the left cut out only as far as Steve Warne who picked up the pieces in the same place only for his cross to be overhit.
Soon afterwards Davidson headed down a throw from the left to Ross Hannah who unselfishly fed Warne whose shot was charged down.
But the respite for the Mariners was brief as just sixty seconds later in the tenth minute, they failed miserably in clearing their lines and in the scramble, Davidson stabbed home from eight yards at the second attempt.
Hannah forced an opening but his shot lacked power before Warne got the better of Joe Fowler only to shoot powerfully over the bar.
Matlock were comfortably in control and Paul Pettinger was not called into action until the 20th minute when he easily held a strike from full back Adam Farley when Riley failed to find distance and height on his clearance.
But that was only a minor scare and Matlock might have earned a penalty twice in the matter of seconds when shots from Davidson and Jackson were blocked by the hands of Marine defenders, one being virtually on the goal line.
As Matlock maintained the pressure, centre back Tony Davies, more through luck than good judgement, found his goalkeeper Sean Lake with a header back from the penalty spot area.
Hannah drove into the sidenetting after impressive approach play by Davidson on 33 minutes before Mariners skipper Phil Brazier was booked for a cynical challenge on Jackson.
Matlock needed to make their pressure count and they did just that when Hannah showed Farley a clean pair of heels on the left to cross tantalisingly for Davidson to direct a delicate and controlled header back across goal and just inside a post.
Almost immediately Davidson drove fiercely too high having been found sublimely by Riley.
Although Marine made more of a fight of it after the interval, the Gladiators were still finding holes in their rearguard. Danny Wood found Jackson with a peach of a forty yard crossfield pass only for the winger to waste the chance by crossing behind.
Midway through the half an error in the visitors defence gave Davidson another opportunity to claim his hat-trick earlier than he did, but the lanky target man lost control at the vital moment.
Marine needed a goal badly but typical of the Gladiators resolve was skipper Warne leading by example to dash back and rob striker Sean Tuck who played the entire game with a bandaged head.
Tuck then tried to release substitute Nicky Young with a low cross from the right but Pettinger, raised from his slumber, was comfortably equal to the task.
That was just about it from Marine.
Matlock turned the screw again as substitute Joe McMahon headed out a teasing centre from Jackson before two goals in three minutes put the icing on the cake for the Gladiators.
Davidson attacked Brazier on the left who handled his cross and this time it was third time lucky in penalty awards and the on-loan Alfreton man calmly beat Lake from the spot for a well deserved treble.
And to conclude his man of the match performance, Davidson was integral in Town's fourth goal, feeding Warne who in turn spotted Clarke up in support to crisply fire past Lake from the edge of the box.
Having won on every visit to Causeway Lane since the teams resumed UniBond Premier Division battle in 2004/ 2005, this thrashing was a kick in the teeth for Marine who until their last gasp win at Prescot four days earlier, had suffered eight consecutive league defeats.
It was all too much for striker Karl O'Donnell.
Last season he scored a hat-trick at Causeway Lane.
This time he hardly got a kick and his aggression was misplaced as he departed for an early bath in stoppage time following a clash with Riley near the touchline.
The 283 crowd cheered Matlock off and rightly so.
They produced the goods and had jumped to 16th spot.
Manager Atkins and the fans will demand more of the same as the season reaches its climax.
Matlock Town: Pettinger, Brough, Riley, King, Foyle, Laight, Jackson, Warne, Davidson, Hannah (Clarke 81), Wood (Benger 86) Other subs: Yates, Thorpe, Buxton.
Referee: D Lawrence (Barnsley)
Attendance: 283
Star man: Danny Davidson.
