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Cheadle Town 3-0 Ashton Town
Cheadle Town returned to winning ways in the league as they saw off a spirited Ashton Town side in this 3-0 win at Park Road
What a difference 48 hours makes.
After the calamity of the St Helens Town away defeat on Thursday evening came this much-needed win over an Ashton Town side down on their luck and down at the bottom of the First Division pile.
Not that they came here to get rolled over. Far from it. They were a spirited outfit and gave us a few nervous moments, particularly at the start of the second half, and probably left Park Road wondering how they didn't score.
Dane Smith's triptych of excellent blocks five minutes into the second half, thus preventing Ashton Town getting an equaliser, could rightly be viewed as this match's "fine lines" moment for after that the visitors didn't really threaten again.
Our play throughout the whole 90 minutes was methodical. This was three points born out of patience, particularly given the number of times we were caught offside.
New signing Davison Banda got into the action straight away, providing a cross from the right as early as the 2nd minute for Nathan Tosum to hold and subsequently clip for Thabiso Magida at the far post to hopefully head home; alas it was cleared off the line at the last minute.
Straight down the other end Dane Smith was forced into tipping the ball past the post after the visitors had conjured a neat one-two move on the edge of the box.
Luke Pearson fired a free-kick just over the crossbar on the quarter hour before Rhys Webb got his head to a Matt German cross and was unlucky to see his goalbound effort deflected wide.
On the 25th minute Webb made a run down the left and cut inside before firing just over the crossbar before we finally broke the deadlock on the 35th minute, and it was down to some quick-thinking on our part.
Ashton Town were caught napping by a quickly-taken thrown-in to the feet of Magida who drove in from the left, poking the ball past the oncoming keeper for Nathan Tosum to tap home from close range.
Our next foray on goal didn't come until the hour mark when Webb found himself in on goal but could only shoot weakly at the keeper.
In the last fifteen minutes of the match we turned the screw further and put the match out of Ashton's reach, thanks to two substitutions that brought Rick Whyatt and Mike Sherrington into the equation.
On 74 minutes Magida got himself onto the end of a cross from Mike but, perhaps distracted by the attentions of a defender, stumbled at the crucial moment before he could get his shot away with Rick then heading over when unmarked just a minute later.
With nine minutes to go we got our second. On the counterattack Rick Whyatt made a run through midfield, feeding Thabiso Magida on the left to advance on goal and finish emphatically.
The deal was sealed in the 89th minute thanks to Mike Sherrington who outpaced his marker on the left before tucking home to the sound of collective relief from the Park Road sidelines.
We are just one defeat in our last five league matches now. That's a very "glass half-full" mindset but it sure sounds better than the half-empty view of it being one win in the last five matches in all competitions. How you perceive it is up to you.
And three clean sheets in the last five league matches - when clean sheets were as rare as hen's teeth for us earlier on this season - might be just another indication of a small corner being turned since that mauling at Charnock Richard....
TEAM: Smith, Banda, Pearson, German, Tongue, Shaw, Todd (Whyatt), Russell, Tosum (M Sherrington), Webb, Magida. SUBS: Whyatt, M Sherrington, Grant, Dunn.
Ashton Town 1-3 Cheadle Town
Cheadle Town got back to league winning ways with this comfortable away win at Ashton Town
With wandering eyes looking towards this Saturday's FA Cup tie at Trafford we had to deal with the more pressing matter of collecting more league points after a somewhat inconsistent start.
And it was a task that was completed in a comfortable manner. There may have been a few fingernails chewed by those of a more nervous disposition when Ashton Town reduced the arrears to 2-1 but, if truth be told, their goal was their only significant attempt on goal all evening.
It was a night that didn't get off to the best of starts for some.
Heavy traffic on the M60 had meant that yours truly had just managed to get to the ground as kick-off started (the chairman fairing somewhat worse, missing the entire first 45 minutes) with Joe Shaw receiving a blow to the eye after just 8 minutes and then having to leave the ground altogether to have the wound seen to at hospital.
With the pack reshuffled to include substitute John McLaughlin in the back four we quickly settled back down and managed our first foray on goal on the quarter-hour mark when Luke Pearson worked himself into space on the left of the box before firing over the bar.
Three minutes later and we were ahead. From the halfway line Thabiso Magida went on a marauding run down the right, jinked inside when on the edge of the area before burying his effort inside the near post.
Sam Noar then forced the Ashton keeper into a good save two minutes later before some tidy play in and around the edge of the box resulted in Mike Sherrington swinging an effort just wide.
His brother Chris finished the half with a couple of decent efforts himself, forcing the keeper to palm away a strongly-hit free-kick before having a go from distance that was inches wide.
His clipped free-kick into the box three minutes after the restart almost brought rewards, but Nathan Tosum's turn-and-shot was blocked well by the Ashton back line.
On 55 minutes Thab Magida was put through by an excellent Matt German ball but was denied at the last by an excellent saving tackle before we finally extended our lead five minutes later.
And, as has happened so many times in the past, it was the Sherrington combination: Chris with the cross from wide out on the left for brother Mike to acrobatically poke home in mid-air.
Sam Noar chased down a through ball on the right before firing just wide of the far post shortly afterwards before Ashton then appeared to have got themselves back in the game on 73 minutes, Silsby latching onto a through ball into the box before clipping it over the advancing Jupp.
Both Chris Sherrington and Sam Noar tried their luck from range in the final ten minutes of the match before the points were wrapped up two minutes from time. Chris Sherrington was the provider from the left wing again, with James Horan - having replaced his brother Mike from the bench - the beneficiary, hooking home from close range.
A first win at Edge Green Street since 2012-13 and the first one in the league since 2010-11; the perfect boost and preparation for the next chapter in our FA Cup antics at Trafford this Saturday.
TEAM: Jupp, Todd, Pearson, German, Shaw (McLaughlin), Dunn, Magida, Tosum (Russell), Noar, M Sherrington (Horan), C Sherrington. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Horan, Russell, McLaughlin, Hincks.
Cheadle Town 1-2 Ashton Town
Cheadle Town fell to their first league defeat since the start of October as Ashton Town did the double in this 2-1 win.
Damn you, Ashton Town. If we should fall short of the play-off picture by five points come the end of April, we shall be visiting your house with pitch forks and a rather irritable mood.
We might end up losing twice to other teams in this league yet this season but having taken the lead in both Ashton Town games this season we have twice gone on to do the one thing we rarely do (as the statistics tell us): lose once we have scored first.
This defeat wasn't as galling as the one back in autumn but is still irritating all the same. We "fell away", "ran out of legs", call it what you will in the second half thus allowing an improved Ashton Town performance after the break to get the better of us.
Credit to both sides for making a half-decent game of it on a rather difficult, sticky surface; one ideally suited to the sliding tackle and where every pass and manoeuvre had to be thought about for just that second longer.
It took 16 minutes for the first decent chance to come: John McLaughlin seeing his effort blocked well by the Ashton keeper after it fell to his feet at the edge of the box.
Two minutes later and we were ahead. Chris Sherrington scampered down the left, putting in an inch-perfect cross for the untroubled James Horan to head home from the centre of the box.
Liam Tongue sent a long range effort just wide on 33 minutes before Rick Whyatt should have put us 2-0 up, instead shovelling his effort over the bar when in a good position from close range.
Tom Elford was the first goalkeeper called into action in the second half, holding well from a drilled effort from the edge of the box before James Horan looped a shot inches over the bar following a flowing move from us.
Ashton Town then got their grip on the game.
Only a world class, last-ditch tackle from James Dunn stopped them drawing level on 56 minutes before they struck the crossbar with a speculative effort a minute later and then saw one of their substitutes get himself in a good position but shoot wildly over.
On 67 minutes, we demonstrated that it was the season of goodwill. Reacting to a through-ball, both keeper Tom Elford and full-back Luke Pearson managed to collide with each other on the edge of the box, allowing Ashton's Weaver to roll the loose ball into the net.
Liam Tongue then tested the keeper again with a fierce drive before Ashton went and took the lead nine minutes after their equaliser, Weaver by name and nature, switching inside and out on the edge of the box before finishing well.
No match for us this coming weekend. Next up is the Cheshire Senior Cup tie versus Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday 12th before a trip to Daisy Hill on Saturday 16th.
TEAM: Elford, McLaughlin, Pearson, Hincks (Naughton), Sacks (Kennedy), Dunn, Jones (Nsimbe), Tongue, Horan, Whyatt, Sherrington. SUBS: Kennedy, Nsimbe, Naughton, Piggott (gk)
Ashton Town 3-2 Cheadle Town
Cheadle Town let a two-goal lead slip as they suffered their second league defeat of the season.
As the tired old footballing cliche goes, two-nil is a dangerous scoreline. Those who were at Edge Green Street on Saturday bore witness.
There's two trains of thought where this defeat is concerned.
Should we have been more clinical with the chances that we had in a match we had hold of by its nether regions, with both hands, for 80 minutes...or did Anthony Trucca's unjust sending off upset our rhythm with the chickens coming home to roost in the last ten minutes?
Whatever. It's one of those defeats that has rankled yours truly all weekend and the best way of mentally putting it to bed is to write this report....
We started this match brightly and would take the lead within the first ten minutes.
After just six minutes a quickly-taken free-kick scuttled across the Ashton goalmouth only needing the barest of touches with us taking a deserved lead just two minutes later; Thabiso Magida finding Darryhl Mason with a delightful through ball for him to round the keeper and calmly roll home.
Darryhl Mason - our Man of the Match by a country mile
Steve Piggott's first save of the day came two minutes after that, making a good stop after the ball had kindly fallen to an Ashton player in the box before our next passage of play on 19 minutes saw us extend our lead: Darryhl Mason again latching onto a through ball on the left, beating the keeper to it and slotting home from the angle.
We pressed on. On 23 minutes Rick Whyatt won a similar race for the ball on the left but the angle for the shot on goal was too tight for him, with his resulting cross into the box finding nobody bar the keeper who had run back to cover the danger.
Just after the half-hour mark Chris Sherrington fizzed one in across the goalmouth that Mason was only inches away from turning home before Chris himself curled an effort just wide from outside the box a minute later.
Ashton finished the first half by poking an effort just wide of the post, making the most of a sloppy passage of play from us.
The second half started pretty much the same way as the first.
Chris Sherrington put Thabiso Magida through in the box on 47 minutes but Thab could only stab wide when in a good position with him then providing a cross for Rick Whyatt that was headed wide.
On the hour mark Darryhl was through on goal but thwarted by an excellent stop by the Ashton keeper with Steve Piggott then making an equally good stop down at the other end, tipping a long range drive over the bar.
And then, on the 62nd minute, our first red card of the season. From Steve's goal kick Anthony Trucca was one of three players challenging for the ball, extending his right arm out to give himself balance, an arm that an Ashton player runs into from behind.
There was absolutely no malice from Anthony at all, in fact he couldn't know that the Ashton player was coming up behind him, but the referee saw it otherwise, sending him off for violent conduct. If you want to form your own opinion then have a look at the video highlights that Ashton Town FC have done and fast-forward to the 8mins 20secs mark. The fact that Ashton Town have videoed the match helps us with a possible appeal.
I think the look on Luke Hincks' face says it all....
(photo courtesy of Dawn Marshall on her Flickr photostream here)
Despite being down to ten men we still managed to forge two more chances to put the match to bed.
Great work by Mason on the right meant he was in the position to fizz a ball across the face of goal...just a shame there was nobody there to tap it home. He also went just wide with a solo effort on 76 minutes.
With eleven minutes remaining Ashton reminded us that they were still very much alive and kicking. Working down the right they pulled the ball back to an awaiting player who looked sure to smash it home and reduce the arrears, but somehow Steve Piggott managed to make a stop and then gather the ball that had squirmed out of his grasp.
Then, in the last ten minutes, the character and resolve that has served us well thus far this season inexplicably went AWOL.
On 80 minutes Ashton's Worsley latched onto a diagonal pass and cut inside and lashed home before a corner from the left was met by the head of an unmarked Dailey two minutes later.
In injury time the hosts stole the victory that had looked unlikely just ten minutes beforehand, Daniel Griffiths getting inbetween our defence to collect a curling pass and coolly knock it over Steve Piggott's head.
To cap the misery Luke Hincks was then given a red card for a reckless challenge which proved to be the last action of the match. We won't be appealing that one.
Next up for the First XI is another tricky-looking away trip to St Helens Town this coming Saturday.
TEAM: Piggott, McLaughlin, Pearson, Trucca, Kennedy, Dunn, Magida (Pegler), Hincks, Mason, Whyatt (Kelly), Sherrington. SUBS: MacAuley, Pegler, Kelly.
September Preview
A full rundown of what September has in store for our First XI.
In writing this preview to our fixtures in September it has dawned on me that one wasn't written for August, for which we apologise.
September is traditionally when the FA Vase kicks in, and that's where we start....
Saturday 5th
Staveley Miners Welfare (away)
FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round
The road to Wembley starts here.
Find Chesterfield on a map, run your finger north-east on the page and you'll very quickly come across Staveley, home to our opponents in this years' FA Vase campaign.
As the team's moniker would suggest, Staveley's history lies heavily within the mining industry with several pits situated around the area. Staveley Miners Welfare is also the name of a building on Market Street so, should you ever find yourself in Staveley looking for a football game, specify which "Miners Welfare" you're looking for as you may be directed to the old market hall!
The "other" Miners Welfare in Staveley
The football club was founded in 1962 as a Sunday League outfit with their history in the Northern Counties East League starting only as recently as the 1996-97 season.
We find them in the Premier Division which technically puts them one level higher than us in the pyramid system, so we're expecting a testing afternoon at Inkersall Road.
SMWFC's Inkersall Road ground
What we're also expecting - and what we have been promised by those at SMWFC via a series of tweets - is a warm welcome, good playing surface and quality food and ale.
Pies and pints at the ready!
Hopefully what sounds like a good away-day already will be complemented by a win and a place in the next round at Handsworth Parramore or AFC Liverpool.
Wednesday 9th
Eccleshall (home)
NWCFL First Division
Assuming that no replay will be required we will then be in action at Park Road against Eccleshall. We haven't faired too well against our Staffordshire opponents at Park Road of late (see below) with them running out winners by the odd goal in four of their last five visits here. Can we put that right on Wednesday 9th?
Last five seasons at Park Road....
2014-15: lost 2-3
2013-14: won 3-1
2012-13: lost 1-2
2011-12: lost 1-2
2010-11: lost 1-2
Saturday 12th
Ashton Town (away)
NWCFL First Division
Towards the start of last season we travelled to Edge Green Street and were defeated by a single, late goal thus prolonging our stuttering start.
We've started much better this time around...and so have Ashton Town at the time of writing so this should be an interesting contest.
Last five seasons at Edge Green Street....
2014-15: lost 0-1
2013-14: lost 1-4
2012-13: won 2-0 (LC1 replay), drew 3-3
2011-12: drew 0-0
2010-11: won 2-1
Saturday 19th
St Helens Town (away)
NWCFL First Division
At the time of writing St Helens Town are just above us in the league table so by the time this fixture comes around the result could mean a swap-of-positions. One of the relegatees from the Premier Division last season this could prove to be another testing away day.
We haven't faced St Helens away in recent seasons (not since the turn of the century) but it will mean a first return to Brocstedes Park - where they groundshare with Ashton Athletic - since the end of the 2007-08 season.
Brocstedes Park
Saturday 26th
Stockport Town (home)
NWCFL League Cup 1st Round
Aren't cup draws wonderful? There's always a nice little local issue in there somewhere and the First Round of the NWCFL League Cup has delivered.
This will see the return of Nathan Neequaye, our top scorer from last season who now wears the red-and-white stripes of our geographical neighbours.
A tie away at Premier Division Alsager Town awaits the winners.