AT last! Chorley collected their first league win at Victory Park since April with a superb display totally at odds with their current league position.

Spearheaded by a wonderful hat-trick from on-loan debutant Rod Thornley, the Magpies looked a totally different outfit and Skelmersdale must have left Victory Park feeling bemused.

After a blistering start, Chorley took a deserved lead midway through the first half when Colin Potts whipped in a vicious corner which Thornley sent flashing into the roof of the net with a thumping header.

Twenty minutes into the second period, Thornley doubled the Magpies' advantage, outpacing the visitors' defence before finishing clinically.

Skelmersdale fought back and cut the deficit when Craig Noone finished off a slick left wing move to set the Magpies' nerves jangling.

In the last minute Thornley capped a man-of-the-match display with a simple tap in after a jinking run by Potts.

There was still time left for Noone to strike the bar with a fierce free kick, but Chorley were not to be denied.