Selby Town 5-1 Cheadle Town

The advent of half-time can sometimes be a good thing, sometimes it can be a bad thing.

Neil Chappell playing to the camera in the pre-match warmup

This time it looked as though it was a bad thing.

With the momentum swinging slightly in our favour and level at 1-1, the peep of the referee’s whistle for the break seemed to do us no favours at all as our second half simply unravelled.

We allowed Selby Town to suffocate us and reduce us to very little in the way of chances with them rolling in four goals to boot.

The match was arguably lost within the first ten minutes of the restart. A poor touch from us on the edge of our own area on 49 minutes allowed Selby’s Daniel Walker to make space for himself and slot home before the hosts’ Chris Jackson then won the race versus our Daniel Whiting to a ball that had been planted on the edge of the area, lifting it over him into an unguarded net.

Danny Whiting then had to make a decent stop at his near post and then make a double-save from a corner before Neil Chappell made an excellent block with his head to a shot that was heading goalbound.

On 68 minutes it was 4-1 as Walker latched onto a flick at the near post before beating Whiting from close range with the defeat made to look worse with two minutes remaining when Burton’s neat turn on the edge of the area bought him enough room to rifle home.

A penny for your thoughts, Mr Meadowcroft…..

And all of that was in such contrast to the first half where it looked like being an evenly-matched contest.

Selby had gone ahead as early as the second minute when a corner in from the right evaded the arms of Whiting and was headed home at the far post by Gothard.

Shortly after that we had two decent chances. On the 4th minute we whipped in a corner that found Warren Gaskin unattended at the far post only for him to misjudge his header and put it wide with Warren then side-footing wide five minutes later when he got onto the end of a free-kick.

Andrew Lunt looked to have a stonewall penalty denied on 26 minutes when he was felled just as he was about to pull the trigger with us then going level just after the half-hour mark.

Ben Brooks - the eyes have it

A foul right on the edge of the area gave us a free-kick square onto goal with Paul Sunderland doing the honours and drilling us level.

Just two minutes later Oliver Hatfield-Banton tossed in a free-kick for the head of Patrick Davin, only for the ball to loop onto the top of the crossbar.

Paul Sunderland had another similar free-kick opportunity in the second half that was beaten away by the keeper, but by then it would have only been a consolation as the tie had already run away from us.

Back to the league action we go this Wednesday as we face a tricky match at Stone Old Alleynians and a chance to put things right.

Good luck to Selby Town in the next round of the FA Vase.

TEAM: Whiting, Machado Le Gal, Hamzat, Hatfield-Banton (Johnson), Gaskin, Chappell, Clayton (Russell), Lunt, Davin, Sunderland, Brooks (Jenkinson). SUBS: Jenkinson, Piggott (gk), Naughton, Johnson, Russell, Brownhill, Meadowcroft.

Cheadle Town 2-2 Eccleshall

One of those draws that felt like a defeat.

In the third of five minutes of injury time, 2-1 ahead and with a lively Eccleshall side exactly where we wanted them, a misjudged clearance attempt leads to a penalty for the visitors and all the hard work of the previous ninety minutes, and the opportunity to enter double figures on the points tally, is swept away from twelve yards.

Frustrating.

For those with a mathematical leaning, the penalty offered perfect symmetry to the match, providing the purest of bookends given that we had taken the lead with virtually the first attack.

With barely a minute gone Warren Gaskin found himself in the unfamiliar territory of the opposition half, placing a sumptuous cross from the right for Ben Brooks to steal in at the far post and nod us into a very early lead.

Eccleshall’s first attempt on goal came on 11 minutes when a long-range effort drifted wide with our next half-decent chance coming shortly afterwards when Justin Pickering’s shot from the right cannoned off the keeper and was just begging for somebody to tap it home as it rolled across the face of goal.

Justin then saw a free-kick go just wide of the upright before another ball across the face of goal wasn’t converted just after the half-hour mark; Paul Sunderland providing for Andrew Lunt this time, the latter just failing to get his legs around the ball.

And that was that in terms of clear-cut chances for the rest of the half with both sides poking and prodding each other.

Five minutes into the second half the match was suddenly level.

Seemingly in a non-threatening position some 40+ yards out, Eccleshall’s Jake Langridge unleashed a vicious shot that sailed in over Martin Blain’s head.

Eight minutes later, we provided a response.

Having just come on as substitute, Patrick Davin made an absolute nuisance of himself in the goalmouth, ultimately recovering a stray ball on the left before feeding it to Hamzat who planted a cross to the far post for Paul Sunderland to nod home our second of the evening.

Just five minutes after that, Eccleshall looked set to draw things level again as they raced clear on goal only for Martin Blain to come out and make an excellent block.

They then volleyed over a loose ball from a corner before the match went into a lull with neither team creating anything and Eccleshall going down to ten men on the 87th minute after their no9 was sin-binned for dissent.

But then, as stoppage time loomed, all manner of action.

Eccleshall had a penalty claim turned down and, as the protests and histrionics were still audible, we went down the other end where Ben Brooks stooped low for a cross but couldn’t quite bundle his header home from close range.

There was even time for one more chance for us after Louis Downs had converted Eccleshall’s late penalty; Lord knows to what level the celebrations would have reached had Justin Pickering’s shot from the right not been blocked by the keeper.

Anyhow, 2-2 it finished. It keeps the decent form going - just the one defeat in eight matches in all competitions now - and we hope that the frustration of dropping two points is channelled into our performance this Saturday as we travel to Selby Town in the 1st Round of the FA Vase.

Onwards.

TEAM: Blain, Hendley, Hamzat, Clayton (Chappell), Gaskin, Hatfield-Banton, Pickering, Lunt (Johnson), Russell (Davin), Sunderland, Brooks. SUBS: Chappell, Whiting (gk), Machado Le Gal, Johnson, Davin.

Cheadle Town 4-1 Abbey Hulton United

Three points at the foot of this particular rainbow

As results in the “first win for new management team” canon go, this wasn’t too bad at all.

An imperious display with a scoreline that was a fair reflection; Abbey Hulton would have had no complaints whatsoever if it would have been more emphatic.

It was a case of one chance after another, with the first coming on the 10th minute mark when Paul Sunderland beat the advancing keeper and managed to stab the ball beyond him; alas it didn’t have enough gas to go over the line and was cleared.

Paul Sunderland

No matter. Just one minute later we took the lead.

In the Abbey Hulton half Paul Sunderland turned and planted a lovely though ball into the path of Patrick Davin who shook off the attentions of a defender and stroked home from the edge of the area.

The returning Justin Pickering then got in on the action twice within the space of as many minutes.

He curled a shot inches wide and then he, like Paul Sunderland before him, managed to poke the ball beyond an advancing keeper; yet again this effort was to bear no fruit as Ben Brooks just couldn’t get to the ball in time to guide it home.

Abbey Hulton’s best period arguably came towards the end of that first half as Ollie Hatfield-Banton had to be on-hand to make two blocks when it looked as though the visitors were going to hurt us.

Within the opening ten minutes of the second half we had effectively put the match to bed.

In the opening minute Ben Brooks had managed to get his head to a low cross but the keeper somehow managed to flap it away with a Patrick Davin brace then giving us a three-goal advantage.

The first of those - and his second of the game - came on 53 minutes from a corner when he gathered the ball on the far side of the area; with his back to goal he managed to turn and strike home with it taking a deflection on its way in.

Hat-trick man Patrick Davin

His hat-trick came three minutes later.

Substitute Thomas Hendley broke out of defence, drove forward and placed a through ball for Patrick to advance on goal, draw the keeper and coolly round him before slotting home.

After an Abbey Hulton header had hit the post on the hour mark there was a glut of opportunities for us to stretch our lead even further.

Justin Pickering found himself clean through and took his shot (perhaps too) early with the keeper parrying; the loose ball fell kindly for Justin again but he put it wide.

Ben Brooks was then through on goal but put his effort high and wide with Patrick Davin then unmarked in the box and uncharacteristically misjudging his shot.

Ben Brooks had another close-range effort blocked by the keeper before Tokia Russell burst clear into the area only for a heavy touch to let him down.

With three minutes remaining we got the fourth goal we deserved. Substitute Jake Phelan travelled down the right before feeding the ball inside for Andrew Lunt to check, eye up a shot and drill home from the edge of the area.

The only shame of the day was that Danny Whiting didn’t go home with a clean sheet. He had made an excellent point-blank stop on 88 minutes only for a penalty to beat him in the third minute of stoppage time for Abbey Hulton’s consolation.

After a run of 1 win in 22 matches we’re now on one of 1 defeat in our last 6 in all competitions.

What a difference a month can make in football.

Onwards.

TEAM: Whiting, Machado Le Gal, Hamzat, Hatfield-Banton, Gaskin, Chappell (Hendley), Pickering (Phelan), Lunt, Davin, Sunderland (Russell), Brooks. SUBS: Phelan, Blain (gk), Russell, Hendley, Johnson.

Cheadle Town 0-7 Wythenshawe Town

From being “closer” to that elusive first win of the season to being as far away as possible within the space of three days.

Danny Whiting and our two mascots for the day lead the teams out

Let’s not make any bones about how the pattern of play developed in this match: Wythenshawe Town bossed it for 90% and were good value for their three points, running in seven goals. To wit:

13th minute: ex-Cheadle player Aaron Dwyer nipping in on the left after the ball wasn’t cleared to round Danny Whiting and tuck home

29th minute: Liam Crelin-Myers bundles home a corner from close range

48th minute: Jan Palinkas eases home a corner from close range

75th minute: the goal of the match; Aaron Dwyer cuts in from the left, rides a few challenges and unleashes a rocket in-off the underside of the crossbar that Danny Whiting could do absolutely nothing about

83rd minute: Aaron Dwyer down the left again, cutting the ball back for Scott Spencer to crash home

90+3 minute: Aaron Dwyer collects his hat-trick

90+6 minute: Wythenshawe Town’s second penalty of the day (they had already very kindly missed one in the first half) which is converted by Scott Spencer.

Ben Brooks

In amongst all of that was a hit crossbar, an offside goal and countless half-chances that Danny Whiting had to deal with; if it weren’t for him then the scoreline would have been much worse.

Our first foray on goal didn’t materialise until the 70th minute; Andrew Lunt putting in a lovely cross from the left for the head of Ben Brooks that went inches wide.

Just a minute later Ashley Curran hit a great first-time cross from the right for Brian Matthews to connect with but his header went wide and all. Brian was through again with two minutes of the match remaining but could only fire over.

Brian Matthews and Ben Brooks reflecting the mood at Park Road

A respite from the league programme now until the 10th September when we play the other Wythenshawe side. Between now and then two cup matches - away at Staveley Miners Welfare in the FA Vase and then at Cleator Moor Celtic in the First Division Cup - and two more opportunities to try and start to heal the wounds of this utter carnage.

Onwards.

TEAM: Whiting, Machado Le Gal (Curran), Hamzat (Naughton), Lunt, Johnson, Hatfield-Banton, Wallis, Shenton, Davin (Matthews), Sunderland, Brooks. SUBS: Matthews, Piggott (gk), Naughton, Phelan, Curran.

Barnton 1-0 Cheadle Town

Closer.

After this performance you get the feeling that the first win isn’t that far away. A solitary penalty was all that divided the two teams, coming on the 20th minute.

We had plenty of chances, the best of which came in an energetic opening ten minutes from us.

Paul Sunderland

With barely a minute on the clock Brian Matthews - with his first start since signing for us over the summer - found himself in space in the area only to volley his effort over the bar.

He was in again three minutes later, robbing the keeper but finding the angle too tight for him to do anything with the ball.

Ryan Shenton then had a glorious chance another two minutes later, latching onto a Pat Davin through ball on the right and seeing his fierce drive at the near post beaten away by the keeper.

Danny Whiting then had to foil a decent Barnton chance on 11 minutes, rushing out to swipe the ball away from the no11’s feet after it looked as though he was going to round Danny before Pat Davin had a chance for himself, heading over a Hopkins cross on 18 minutes.

Another Hopkins cross caused trouble on the stroke of half-time as he scuttled one across the face of the Barnton goal but there wasn’t a Cheadle limb on the end of it to turn it home.

A similar situation occurred on 50 minutes when Pat Davin couldn’t stretch his long limbs enough to get on the end of a Brian Matthews cross and could only poke it wide.

Barnton almost stole a 2-0 lead just after the hour mark when a cross from the left was met by a stooping header by the unmarked no11 which thankfully drifted wide.

Our Ollie throwing some shapes

On the 72nd minute Brian Matthews took aim from range with the parried shot then met by Pat Davin who fired it goalwards only for the keeper to have made a recovery and palm it away.

Pat then actually had the ball in the net five minutes later but was deemed to have been offside when he bundled home an Ollie Hatfield-Banton cross home from close range.

We knew it probably wasn’t going to be our night on 81 minutes when substitute Jake Phelan put the afterburners on down the right to beat the onrushing keeper to the ball and stab it past him; it was surely going to roll in but for a last-gasp clearance.

Two minutes later Yannick Machado Le Gal sent a lovely cross in from the right that looked set for Ashley Curran to volley home at the far post but he sent it skywards.

This run will come to an end at some point, surely. We came ridiculously close tonight and should have come away with something. Onto the visit of Wythenshawe Town on Bank Holiday Monday….

TEAM: Whiting, Johnson, Hatfield-Banton, Lunt, Gaskin, Sunderland (Naughton), Curran, Shenton, Matthews (Phelan), Davin, Hopkins (Machado Le Gal). SUBS: Clarke, Piggott (gk), Machado Le Gal, Naughton, Phelan.

West Didsbury & Chorlton 2-1 Cheadle Town

No matter how many times you close your eyes tight and then open them again, this bad start to the 2019-20 campaign hasn’t gone away I’m afraid.

Another day, another dollar, another match where we haven’t been able to put a ‘W’ on the string of results. The start of an NWCFL season is always busy with two matches a week in August but perhaps it’s a good thing we go again as soon as Friday evening.

Uncharacteristically for us we took the lead in a match but then went on to lose it, coming oh-so close to coming away with a point towards the end.

Paul Sunderland

The opening 25 minutes of this match was as drab as the evening sky above it; neither team seemingly bothered to carve out a clear-cut chance for themselves.

But then came the first shot in anger as a West through-ball saw Danny Whiting facing a one-on-one situation; thankfully he did enough to put the player off and force him wide and the resulting cross was volleyed high and wide.

Three minutes later and Danny was called into action again, making a superb double-save to deny a long-range shot and then block the rebound.

On 35 minutes a Cheadle breakaway saw us take the lead. Pat Davin cut loose down the right and had acres of space to plant a teasing cross to the far post where an unmarked Ryan Shenton was waiting to nod home.

Unfortunately our lead only lasted six minutes. We failed to clear our lines effectively and the loose ball was piledriven from the right. Danny Whiting did very well to parry the shot but could do nothing about Matt Boland’s acrobatic volley from the edge of the box to draw the match level.

As half-time approached another fluffed clearance gave West the opportunity to snatch the lead, but Danny Whiting was equal to another fierce drive from the edge of the area.

Patrick Davin

We had a decent opening 15 minutes of the second half in which we had opportunities to regain the lead.

The West keeper had to tip a snapshot over the bar before he then almost gifted us a goal just before the hour mark; his rushed clearance allowing Pat Davin in whose tackle sent the ball into mid air with all manner of chaos ensuing. An Ash Curran header didn’t quite have enough power behind it and the West keeper was eventually able to recover the ball.

Just two minutes later Curran sped down the right and zipped a ball in for Pat Davin who slid in and stabbed the ball just wide.

West then had vast control of the remainder of the match , going ahead on the 64th minute after a long throw-in found Dylan Moloney who made space for himself in the box before rifling home.

The hosts then clattered the crossbar on 74 minutes before we had one last chance shortly afterwards to level matters; Pat Davin’s square ball finding Aaron Taylor on the edge of the area only for his side-footed effort to be saved by the keeper’s legs.

West kept pushing for the third in the final ten minutes and came closest on 83 minutes when a free-kick was headed onto the crossbar and somehow not bundled home in the resulting melee.

With little else to say it’s onto Friday evening and the search for that elusive first win of the season….

TEAM: Whiting, Machado Le-Gal, Lunt, Clarke, Johnson, Gaskin, Phelan, Shenton, Davin, Sunderland, Curran. SUBS: Naughton, Piggott (gk), Hopkins, Rezayan, Taylor.

Stockport Town 2-2 Cheadle Town

There’s no rest for the wicked during the first four weeks of the NWCFL season.

The fixtures come thick and fast and no sooner had we licked our wounds from the 0-2 defeat on Saturday, it was time to head up the A560 for footballing tea and biscuits with the neighbours.

Whilst we created nowhere near the glut of chances at the weekend, we still came away with ourselves on the board, both goals-wise and points-wise. Such is football.

Enter!

A lively encounter saw the first chance go the hosts’ way within the first minute when Kiarno Samms was in on the left only for him to blaze his shot over.

Callum Knight then saw a first-time shot from the edge of the area saved before Ethan Hennessy got to a loose ball at the far post, pulled the ball back across the face of net but saw nobody around to prod it home.

The to-and-fro continued. Pat Davin got his tall frame to a free-kick that was tossed into the area and headed it just wide before the hosts went straight down the other end and volleyed over a great chance.

On 26 minutes Ethan Hennessy picked up a pass from Callum Knight on the right before advancing on goal thanks to a lovely touch and firing high inside the near post; the Stockport Town keeper was equal to it with an excellent stop.

Andy Lunt gives chase

Finally a breakthrough just after the half-hour mark.

Hamzat’s ranging cross from the left looked to be just too much for Patrick Davin in the box but he somehow managed to launch himself at it enough to plunge home a powerful header into the corner.

Straight down the other end Danny Whiting had to be alert to prevent an instant equaliser, getting down to his left at the near post to block a snapshot from a corner before we attacked once more a minute later, Ben Brooks laying it square for Aaron Taylor to drive in from the edge of the area only for a deflection to take the sting out of the shot.

Just as it looked as though we would be going in at half-time with a lead to our name, we conceded a penalty when Ebbie Rezayan got caught in two minds whether to boot a cross clear or stoop low and head it away; the latter option didn’t work and he ended up handballing it.

After what probably was a last-minute re-wording of Will’s half-time team talk, we came out for the second half on the front foot as we looked to regain our lead.

Patrick Davin’s pinged cross for Callum Knight on 47 minutes looked to be a golden opportunity lost as he screwed his resulting shot wide but Patrick would duly regain that lead for us some ten minutes later with a superb effort.

Receiving the ball inside left he used quick feet to dance past two or three of Stockport Town’s rearguard before unleashing a fierce, crisp strike with his left foot into the top corner of the net.

Mr Patrick Davin - safe to say he had a fairly effective evening!

Patrick almost got his hat-trick on 72 minutes when he connected with a Rezayan volley across the goalmouth but it was one of those where he didn’t have enough time to react to the opportunity and ended up putting it over.

After that it was the hosts that easily had the best of the closing stages.

They consistently prodded and poked away at us and the luck that we were pushing looked to have held firm on 85 minutes as one of their forwards, unmarked at the far post, blazed a volley over.

Alas, three minutes later, it ran out.

We failed to clear our lines once more with the loose ball being met with a long-range piledriver that Danny Whiting could only push wide. There to mop up the rebound was Cheadle Town FC’s anathema, thorn in one’s side and general bogey Kiarno Samms who gleefully tucked home.

The drama didn’t end there either. In injury time both sides had clear cut chances to win the match.

Samms almost went home with all the glory as he picked up a loose ball in our area and fired one inches wide of the post.

Straight down the other end Ben Brooks tore down the left and checked back before dinking a cross to the far post; there was Aaron Taylor, looking poised to head home a winner but, lacking the height of a Patrick Davin who had just been substituted, just couldn’t quite get enough purchase behind his header and it ended up going harmlessly wide.

A fascinating encounter and, when all is said and done, probably a fair result.

We go again this Saturday (see what I mean about August!) when we play our first league match at Park Road of this season. St Martins are the visitors.

TEAM: Whiting, Hamzat (Kyobe), Phelan, Lunt (Clarke), Johnson, Rezayan, Hennessy, Taylor, Davin (Russell), Knight, Brooks. SUBS: Clarke, Piggott (gk), Russell, Kyobe, Kuzakwawo.

Cammell Laird 2-0 Cheadle Town

Let’s get the negative statistic out of the way first.

This was the first time that Cheadle Town had lost their first competitive match of the season since the 2007-08 campaign. Funnily enough that was a 0-2 away defeat and all (at Padiham, in case you are wondering) but my memory serves me correct enough to recall that it was nowhere near as frustrating as this one.

Yannick takes a tumble

After a shaky start in which we conceded in the 3rd minute, we laid siege to the Cammell Laird net with the ball always managing to find an outstretched limb in its path.

The match was barely three minutes old when we conceded our first of the season.

Cammell Laird broke down the right and Danny Whiting looked to be winning the race to a threaded through-ball but then hesitated slightly, allowing Lairds’ Ollie Nugent to nip the ball around him and slide home from an angle.

That was to be the home side’s last meaningful shot on goal until the 88th minute when they got the second; Danny Whiting had pushed a fierce shot out wide, only to see it returned square and tapped home by Michael Furlong.

Patrick Davin making his presence felt

In between those two goals, more so in a concentrated spell in the first half, we had chance after chance.

On the 11th minute both Ben Brooks and Ashley Woodhead saw efforts blocked at the near post with Aaron Taylor then picking up a cross from Patrick Davin and seeing his drive spin off the keepers legs and harmlessly over the bar.

Patrick got in on the act a minute later, using his quick feet to garner himself a shot, only to see that effort stopped right on the line.

It continued. Patrick then rifled one straight at the keeper with a fluid passage of play setting Yannick Machado Le Gal in on the right only for his effort to be blocked at the near post.

Let’s dance

On 35 minutes Patrick Davin then tried the audacious, craftily flicking an Ashley Woodhead cross narrowly over the bar before Aaron Taylor’s neat turn-and-shot on the edge of the area was saved on the line.

A Patrick Davin free-kick that cannoned off the keeper’s legs (he would have felt that) was the last Cheadle shot in anger before the half was out and, bar a moment where Le Gal just couldn’t connect onto a Woodhead free-kick early in the second half, the final half-decent chance we created for the rest of the afternoon.

A frustrating afternoon but if half the chances we created end up in the back of the net for our next league match then we will be bringing home three points.

Onwards.

TEAM: Whiting, Hamzat, Machado Le Gal, Clarke (Knight) (Rakundo), Gaskin, Johnson, Woodhead, Rezayan (Kayode), Davin, Taylor, Brooks. SUBS: Knight, Piggott (gk), Phelan, Rakundo, Kayode

Cheadle Town 0-2 Cheadle Heath Nomads

Everything that could have gone wrong during this 90 minute spell, did.

A goal from an ex-Cheadle Town player for the opponents, a Cheadle Town bench that resembled an episode of ‘Casualty’ before half-time and a second goal for the opponents that was pure comedy cuts. When it’s not your day….

A brisk start from us saw us carve out two half-decent opportunities in the first ten minutes.

Desley Osakwe got himself into space on the edge of the area on the 7th minute and looked to be in a good position to shoot but he was crowded out by the Nomads defence and found his space limited, resulting in him shooting wide.

A minute later and Rhys Clooney nipped in following some confusion in the Nomads’ defence, only for him to see his effort hastily cleared.

Nomads’ first foray came on the 12th minute when Adam Stevens was forced to make a good stop at his near post.

And then two injuries that really derailed us. First of all midfielder Conor Naughton limped off having twisted awkwardly on the dry pitch and then centre-half Ollie Hatfield-Banton saw his day cut short with a bad knee injury.

…and there endeth Ollie’s day

The only remaining action of the first half saw Nomads take the lead on 42 minutes.

A quickly-taken free-kick on the left caught us napping a bit and the cross was headed home by unmarked ex-Cheadle Town midfielder Callum Collinson.

Our start to the second half mirrored the one we made in the first, carving out two decent chances in quick succession once again.

On 56 minutes Callum Knight placed a teasing cross in from the left that fell at the feet of substitute Shaq Lewys but he somehow skied his effort over the bar from close range.

One minute later Rhys Clooney powered through down the left and looked set to score but the Nomads keeper got a vital touch to it to force the effort wide.

Robbie Wallis and Rhys Clooney

On 62 minutes Nomads then squandered an identical chance in front of goal and would have gone further ahead four minutes later if it weren’t for Robbie Wallis acrobatically clearing a lobbed effort off the line.

As the match entered the final ten minutes Adam Stevens made another great stop as Leon Grandison’s near-post volley was beaten away with Rhys Clooney then latching onto a slide pass from Joe Neild only for him to place his effort straight at the keeper.

‘Deadly’ Desley Osakwe

For all of Adam Stevens’ efforts it was a shame the match ended the way it did. A minute into injury time he misjudged a clearance straight to Nomads’ Kirkby who kept his head, rounded Adam and slotted home from the edge of the area.

Only one more match to go. With plans for next season already in the offing 5.00pm this Saturday can’t come quick enough. It’s been one heck of an indifferent season….

TEAM: Stevens, Phelan (Neild), Wallis, Naughton (Rezayan), Dunn, Hatfield-Banton (Lewys), Russell, Knight, Osakwe, Clooney, Christopher. SUBS: Lewys, Rezayan, Neild, Whiting (gk).

Cheadle Town 0-2 Stone Old Alleynians

“There’s no place like home”.

We would disagree at the moment. Since the turn of the year we have struggled at Park Road; four league matches, four defeats. There’s two more opportunities to put that right before a rather indifferent 2018-19 campaign comes to a close.

All smiles during the pre-match warm-up!

Looking back at my notes for the match I recorded only one direct shot on-target for us in the whole match; that came on 18 minutes courtesy of Rhys Clooney. His effort from the edge of the area could have been one of those that the keeper failed to spot due to the traffic in front of him but he was alert enough to gather it safely.

Other than that we would have to admit that Stone OA had the better of it overall.

As early as the 3rd minute they got themselves down the right (their no7 Williams was a nuisance all match) only for their tall striker Tomlinson to head over from close range.

A couple of their corners then came to not-very-much before they forced a world-class save from Danny Whiting who somehow managed to push a point-blank header over the bar.

Rhys Clooney

Stone OA really should have been 1-0 up shortly before half-time as they contrived to act out the miss of the season. A header back across goal was on a plate for one of their unmarked strikers a yard out from goal but, with the goal gaping, he opted for a low header and somehow managed to scoop it over the crossbar.

They did take the lead early in the second half, though.

On 53 minutes Ollie Hatfield-Banton unfortunately got the ball stuck under his feet on the edge of the area with possession lost to Stone OA’s Samuel Wilson. With Danny Whiting off his line Wilson coolly clipped the ball over him into the far corner of the net.

Stone OA increased their lead on 72 minutes with a penalty that David Ablewhite crashed home.

Four more to go. Two at home, two away. Next up is a visit from Alsager Town this coming Saturday. 3.00pm kick off…..

TEAM: Whiting, Neild, Daulby (Son), Naughton, Dunn, Hatfield-Banton, Wallis, Egan, Clooney, Lewys (Benjamin), Knight (Ntalu). SUBS: Christopher, Ntalu, Son.

Cammell Laird 1-1 Cheadle Town

Given that these two teams have the highest number of drawn matches between them I suppose there shouldn’t be any surprises at the outcome.

It all could have been very different, however, were it not for some heroics from Cheadle goalkeeper Adam Stevens early in the second half.

Conor Naughton

In a match of very few clear-cut chances, Lairds will be ruing their most golden of opportunities on the 50th minute when they were awarded a penalty, only to see our Adam beat it away to safety.

That was the only real excitement of note in a rather staid second half. Rhys Clooney did manage to get himself in a good position on the 58th minute but shot straight at the keeper, Shaq Lewys saw an effort deflected wide and Joe Neild sent a long-ranger wide of the post just as the match was coming to an end.

Rhys Clooney had better luck in the first half when his effort on the 37th minute had brought us level.

Latching onto a neat through ball down the left channel he won his individual battle with his marker before breaking clear and drilling home past the onrushing keeper.

Congrats all round after Rhys Clooney pulled us level

Lairds had got themselves ahead in the 13th minute after, arguably, having the better of the early exchanges.

They had hooked an effort inches wide as early as the 2nd minute following a long throw-in from the right and had forced Adam Stevens into a good block some ten minutes later.

Mr Clooney with the Lairds defence in admiration

He could do nothing about the moment of quick-thinking shortly after, though.

Possession was lost in our midfield and, spotting Adam Stevens off his line, Lairds’ Elliott Jones thumped a shot from 35 yards over the top of his head and in off the underside of the crossbar.

Rhys Clooney then had his first chance to pull us level after a Nathan Ntalu shot had found its way to his feet on the edge of the area. He twisted and turned away from danger only for him to fire just over the bar.

Next up is a visit from high-flying Stone Old Alleynians this Saturday, 3.00pm kick-off.

TEAM: Stevens, Neild, Daulby, Naughton, Dunn, Hatfield-Banton, Ntalu, Egan, Clooney (Knight), Rodriguez (Wallis), Son (Lewys). SUBS: Wallis, Lewys, Knight.

Cheadle Town 4-1 Ellesmere Rangers

After a clutch of matches against local opposition, teams coached by ex-coaches, top six etc. it made a pleasant change to engage in something without some sort of extra agenda.

On paper this looked like a home banker: Cheadle Town in great form, Ellesmere Rangers struggling at the foot of the table and to those who didn’t attend the resulting 4-1 scoreline would have been everything they expected.

It didn’t tell the whole story, mind, as Ellesmere certainly had their chances up to the moment we took the lead and gave some indication as to why their recent form had picked up.

Danny Whiting was called into action as early as the 4th minute, getting down low to block as Ellesmere broke down the right with our crossbar being clipped on 11 minutes when we suddenly found ourselves with a three-on-two situation.

Rhys Clooney - Mr Hat-Trick

Our first decent half-chance came on 17 minutes. Sheriff’s deep cross from the right was headed back across goal by Ben Brooks to Ben Christopher who looped a header just inches wide.

Ellesmere then had two more chances of their own leading up to the half-hour. Danny Whiting grateful for the shot being driven straight at him first of all with a simple give-and-go on the edge of our area setting somebody free on the right only for him to balloon his effort over the bar.

On the half-hour mark came the swing as we were awarded a penalty which Rhys Clooney duly buried.

Eight minutes later and we were two clear. Rhys Clooney collecting the ball in midfield, driving forward and shoving everything out of his way before rifling a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.

Kefala Sheriff

For all their efforts Ellesmere were now two-down in the blink of an eye.

Just after the hour mark Rhys netted his hat-trick, latching onto a Ben Christopher square ball from the left and taking his time to set himself before blasting home from close range.

Ellesmere got one back on 71 minutes from a penalty of their own which Adam Davies netted and then could have reduced the deficit even further on 80 minutes were it not for an excellent stop by the legs of Danny Whiting.

The match was put to bed just four minutes later, and for a change it wasn’t Rhys Clooney who was instrumental!

The tireless Connor Naughton saw a powerful drive cannon skywards via a pair of Ellesmere legs and spin towards the area. A bit of “after you, Claude” ensued in the Ellesmere defence and Ben Brooks was quickest to react to the falling ball, stabbing home past the hesitant keeper.

Thankfully New Years football isn’t a thing at this level and the players get a bit of a break after what has been a semi-hectic schedule. Next up is a really tricky away match at promotion-chasing Abbey Hulton United. Given our recent run of form we should have nothing to fear.

TEAM: Whiting, Wallis, Ratican (Neild), German, Dunn, Naughton, Sheriff (Ntalu), Taylor, Clooney, Christopher, Brooks. SUBS: Neild, Huynh, Ntalu, Todd.