Cheadle Town 1-1 Holker Old Boys

Big smiles from our match mascot Freddie

On balance, a draw was probably about right. Both sides had their chances with the more gilt-edged ones falling to us, you could argue.

Both goals came in the second half but how we, in particular, went in at half-time with a "nil" to our name is baffling.

Holker had the first decent chance of the match after just five minutes; the ball worked down the right and cut across for an unmarked player on the edge of the box, only for him to lash the effort wide.

On 13 minutes Rick Whyatt went on a journey down the left, evading a couple of challenges before suddenly finding space, only for him to toe-poke it over the bar.

Five minutes later Ryan Allcock did well to tip a snap header over the bar before a Chris Sherrington cross-shot bounced off the crossbar with the loose ball hammered back in and blocked by the keeper.

A better chance fell our way on 22 minutes. Again, Chris Sherrington's work down the left was key as he laid a perfect cross for Liam Delaney to meet it with a rising header. Unfortunately, under pressure from the Holker defence, his header was misdirected wide.

Josh Harrison. Plus evening sun.

Just four minutes into the second half Holker opened the scoring.

We failed to effectively clear the ball from the box and when it was returned to Brandon Collins on the edge of the area, he turned and fired it past Ryan Allcock in-off the post.

It wasn't until the hour mark that we started to apply the pressure once more.

Liam Delaney set Tom Ratican free down the right with a searching pass with Tom firing a drive across the face of goal and just wide of the post.

Three minutes later and we were level. Tom Ratican turning provider this time, drilling the ball in from the right for Jake Ambrose to turn sharply in the box and smash home into the roof of the net.

Another three minutes later we should have been 2-1 up. Jake Ambrose's drive from range was parried by the Holker keeper and invitingly into the path of the onrushing Rick Whyatt, who somehow managed to lift it over the bar from a yard out.

In the final ten minutes Holker tried to make their one-man advantage count (we had James Dunn sent off for a second yellow card).

Seven minutes from time they broke free down the right only for the resulting shot to fly just wide of the post, before we then stabbed it inches wide following a corner.

For those interested in statistics we now can't match the points total of 61 (but we can get damned close) that we managed last season and we are guaranteed of finishing between 10th and 14th inclusive. Not at all bad considering the limited resources plus the congested end to the season.

And there's more. Two more, starting tomorrow night at Park Road as play-off candidates Sandbach United are the visitors.

TEAM: Allcock, McLaughlin, Harrison, Delaney, Shaw, Dunn, Ratican, Wood, Ambrose, Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Jones, Holt, Cotton, Collinson, Whiting (gk).

Committee member Karl with MCWFC's Georgia Stanway and Izzy Christiansen. Georgia was at Park Road to watch her brother play for Holker.