Four goals in 14 second-half minutes helped King's Lynn Town keep up their United Counties Premier Division title charge with an emphatic win at Wellingborough Town this afternoon.

Danny Beaumont had given his side a slim half-time lead but strikes from Jack Defty, Jamie Thurlbourne and a brace from Jason Turner - on his return to the club he left in February - secured another win for the in-form Linnets.

Gary Setchell said Tuesday night's 7-0 League Cup semi-final victory had left him with a selection headache but he still made four changes from the side that trounced Peterborough Northern Star.

Goalkeeper Alex Street, defender Stuart Wall, midfielder Jamie Thurlbourne and striker Turner all returned to the side as Matthew Hails, Ryan Fryatt, Dan Buhlemann and Robbie Harris dropped to the bench.

A piece of magic nearly gave the hosts the lead in the opening exchanges when Wayne Richardson's stunning long-range effort crashed against Street's crossbar. It looked like the Linnets' keeper had got the slightest of finger tips to the effort and if he did, it was yet another majestic save from the highly-rated shot-stopper.

Table-topping Lynn began to get a foothold in the game once Defty started to get hold of the ball and link the play and he created the visitors' first chance when his headed flick on found winger Thurlbourne. However, Doughboys' keeper Danny Wallace got off his line quickly to prevent the left-footer from getting his shot away.

Ross Watson, playing in his usual centre-back role after featuring in midfield during the week, was forced into making a superb clearance yards from his goal line as Dan Surridge looked set to head home. However, there was little by way of genuine goalscoring opportunities as both sides battled to gain the initiative.

Defty had a half-decent header comfortably saved but mid-table Wellingborough, who have been inconsistent this season, continued to make life hard for Setchell's side with their tremendous work-rate.

It looked like it was going to take a bit of magic to open the scoring and that spark came from Beaumont in the 36th minute. The ex-Dereham star, playing in his now usual right-sided midfield position, turned and beat a couple of men before drilling the ball home into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box with his left foot.

It was 1-0 at the break with the only talking points in the remainder of the half being referee Colin Ford - who 'allowed' Luke Thurlbourne's controversial goal at The Walks against Thrapston Town - making some awful decisions.

Turner's return to his former club improved even more two minutes into the second half when he puts his new club further in front. The 30-year-old fired home on the turn from close range, and he was celebrating again just minutes later when he nodded Defty's header home yards from the goal line to score his second and Lynn's third.

He said he was unsure whether he'd celebrate scoring and to his credit he only pumped a fist as he delivered two knock-out blows to his former team-mates who he scored 47 times for during an emphatic spell with the Dog & Duck outfit.

The Linnets' were rampant and nearly added a fourth with their class beginning to show when Jordan Yong's fine run and cross was side-footed over by Defty. And the big man should have got his name on the scoresheet when the same combination linked up again but Lynn's number nine headed wide.

With Danny White and Luke Thurlbourne taking control of the midfield, after a hard-working first-half display from the central midfield pair, a fourth looked inevitable. And it came through Defty when he headed Jamie Thurlbourne's cross home in the 60th minute.

As the hosts fell apart Jamie Thurlbourne added a fifth two minutes later when he scored directly from a free-kick. Rampant Lynn had exploded into life after a first-half where their was little to separate the sides.

The rest of the half was one-way traffic with Rob Hughes spraying the ball about as the Linnets took their foot off the gas a little on their way to picking up another three points - and another clean sheet - as they continued their UCL title charge with an emphatic win while rivals Long Buckby won 4-0 at Spalding United.

• King's Lynn: Street, Deeney, (Fryatt, 75), Wall, Yong, Beaumont, L.Thurlbourne (Hughes, 65), White, J.Thurlbourne, Defty (Harris, 68) and Turner

Subs not used: Hails and Buhlemann

• Goals: Beaumont (36), Turner (48, 51), Defty (60), J.Thurlbourne (62)

• Wellingborough: Wallace, Marlow, Hopewell, Cray, Casey, Heycock (Johnson, 70), Richardson (Harewood, 61), Cassidy, Surridge, Liversedge (Newman, 70) and Tite

• Booked: Liversedge and Marlow

• Referee: C.Ford

• Attendance: 308