JOSH Richards scored four times as the Basingstoke under-18 Bison opened their league campaign with a 9-2 victory over visiting Peterborough.

Richards took just 16 seconds to open this account as he finished a nice move involving Paul Petts and Connor Hutchison.

The Herd doubled their lead before the first break as George Gill netted, assisted by Luke Coles and Chris Hocquigny.

The second period started much the same as the first, with a lot of the pressure coming from the young Bison side. They scored three more goals thanks to Louis Taylor, Jack Standing and Richards.

A shorthanded strike from Gill opened the third period and Standing’s second of the game made it 7-0, before Peterborough opened their account.

The home side hit back 29 seconds later as Richards completed his hat-trick from a Steven Ratcliff pass.

The Bison’s newly-signed netminder Alex Bowers took over in goal and was put under immediate pressure as the visitors scored their second of the game.

It was left to Richards to complete the scoring with his fourth of the night and also a fourth assist for Hutchison.

Before this game, the under-16 Bison lost 7-1 to visiting Invicta.

Hutchison scored their only goal, assisted by Aaron Grimshaw.