Cheadle Town 1-0 Oswestry Town
On the back of last week’s stupendous shellacking of Premier Division Bootle the million-dollar question was could we keep things going and prove that last weekend wasn’t a one-off?
In short, yes we could.
This was a performance as solid as the scoreline doesn’t actually suggest; we had plenty of chances - particularly in the first half - to have the match out-of-reach.
The penalty nine minutes in was the first notable incident of the afternoon.
Ben Brooks’ jet-heels took him clear on the left and the result of him being unceremoniously upended was swept home by Joe Neild for his eighth goal of the season.
Joe Neild’s penalty sends the keeper the wrong way to put us 1-0 up
Danny Whiting was then called upon to make a smart stop down to his left before the tireless Matthew German - captain for the day - narrowly fired over after a great run by Nathan Ntalu.
Just short of the half-hour mark we had two golden opportunities to stretch the lead.
Ben Christopher put Ryan Rogers in down the right for a clear shot on goal but he sliced his shot horribly wide with Ryan on the end of another chance just four minutes later, lashing wide after Ntalu’s shot had been blocked by the keeper.
Matthew German: captain for the day and Man of the Match
The visitors recorded one more decent chance just before half-time but thankfully when the ball was cut back from the byline it was mis-hit.
They almost got an equaliser seven minutes into the restart but were thwarted by an excellent piece of defending by James Dunn who spotted the danger and nipped in at the last minute when Danny Whiting had been rounded.
Ryan Rogers had another effort saved before substitute Rhys Clooney was found by Ben Brooks in acres of space in the box, only for him to plant it wide.
All eyes on the ball
We were given a let-off on 76 minutes when Oswestry shot wide from a left-wing cross (when the player was totally unmarked) before Matt German sent a looping header inches over the bar from a corner.
The final act of the day was Ben Christopher latching onto a through ball by Chris Sherrington down the left but his chance to really seal the deal ended up in the side-netting.
A big five weeks lays ahead. If the performances of the past two weeks can be maintained then it may be a happy new year after all….
Next up is the visit of St Martins this Saturday.
TEAM: Whiting, Neild, Wallis, German, Dunn, Hatfield-Banton, Rogers (Clooney), Naughton, Ntalu (Sherrington), Christopher, Brooks. SUBS: Huynh, Sherrington, Russell, Clooney, Lilley (gk)
