March boss Brett Whaley has hailed his lethal attacking weapons.

Cambs Times: Craig Gillies is a vital member of the March Town attack. Picture: IAN CARTERCraig Gillies is a vital member of the March Town attack. Picture: IAN CARTER (Image: Archant)

Whaley dished out the plaudits for leading scorer Jack Friend, strike partner Craig Gillies and young talent Toby Allen.

And he reckons his high-scoring stars can inspire a promotion charge for the Hares in Thurlow Nunn League First Division North while they also chase cup success on several fronts.

Friend took his goal tally for the season to 18 with a hat-trick on Tuesday night - which included a late winner - as March pipped King's Lynn Town Reserves 3-2 in the opening round of the First Division KO Cup.

That arrived after Allen thumped a treble of his own last Saturday when March triumphed 6-1 at lowly Framlingham Town in a league fixture.

Cambs Times: Young talent Toby Allen after finding the net in the FA Vase earlier this season. Picture: IAN CARTERYoung talent Toby Allen after finding the net in the FA Vase earlier this season. Picture: IAN CARTER (Image: Archant)

Allen has now netted five times in all while Gillies, who struck twice at Framlingham, has bagged nine in total.

Whaley said: "We knew we were signing a natural goalscorer when bringing Jack in and his record is absolutely phenomenal.

"But he does more than just put the ball in the net. His all-round game has improved hugely during his time with us.

"Craig has been a good player at higher levels and is a perfect foil for Jack.

"He gives us a huge amount of physical presence and has a knack of coming up with big goals at important times in games.

"Toby is the player who provides the real flair in the team. He's young, he's creative, he's exciting and he's starting to turn potential into performance. I was delighted to see him get the hat-trick on Saturday as we've challenged him to add more goals to his game.

"Jack, Craig and Toby all want to progress in the game and we need to ensure they are able to do that with us. We've made no secret of the fact we want to challenge for promotion this season and it's clear they are going to be key men in us hopefully achieving that."

March have already played 15 games in all competitions this season - five of them against higher-level sides in the FA Cup and FA Vase.

They've found the net 38 times so far with the attacking trio of Friend, Gillies and Allen responsible for 32 of the goals.

Scott Callaghan, Mo Akhtar, Casey Logan, Max Mattless and Jamie Short have all claimed a goal apiece with an own goal completing the Hares' haul.