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Cheadle Town 1-1 Northwich Victoria (lost 3-4 on penalties)
Cheadle Town bowed out of the NWCFL Macron League Cup on penalties to Premier Division side Northwich Victoria
The ultimate in heartbreaking ways to lose a cup tie...but what else can you do when it's a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes?
If this was a league match then both sides would have been happy with the draw. Alas, this is the Macron League Cup and, with extra time not an option, the lottery from 12 yards kicked in.
Vics arguably had the better of the first half and could have gone into the break holding a lead.
They forced Danny Whiting into a very good stop as early as the 3rd minute and he was there again at the near post on 18 minutes to block an effort after their no10 had cut inside from the right.
They had another excellent chance on the 25th minute when their no9 received a square pass inside and was completely unmarked with only Danny Whiting to beat; fortunately for us he took far too long deciding what to do and could only spoon his shot over the bar.
Apart from Joe Shaw heading a Liam Delaney free kick just wide that was pretty much it in terms of action in the first half. A howling, swirling wind was playing havoc - carrying through balls, holding up passes, blowing throw-ins out of touch - and ruining any chances of any flow in the game.
Danny Whiting was on-hand to claw the ball from underneath his crossbar after said wind had caught hold of a lofted Vics free-kick early in the second half with James Dunn's wild lash over the bar the only next significant piece of action a good bit later.
On the 68th minute the game suddenly came to life.
Rick Whyatt gathered the ball in midfield and pressed forward, evading challenges on his way before drilling home from the edge of the area to give us the lead.
It didn't last long.
A minute later a long throw-in was only cleared as far as the edge of the area where Vics' Oliver Walker was waiting to rifle home.
Pushing for the winner we had the better chances in the closing stages of the match.
On the 78th minute a lovely move ended with Rick Whyatt shooting wide when in a good posotion with a neat combination between Mssrs Collinson and Cotton resulting in the latter cracking a well-placed shot off the crossbar.
In stoppage time a short corner to Joe Nield was clipped over to the far post for a waiting Joe Shaw but he hacked his effort wide, sending our hopes of nicking this cup tie with it and us facing the prospect of a penalty shoot-out.
Our woeful record in shoot-outs was to continue as Vics ran out 4-3 winners in the lottery and booked themselves a place in the quarter-finals. This is how the shoot-out went:
0-1: Northwich Victoria score
1-1: Cheadle score, Liam Delaney
1-2: Northwich Victoria score
2-2: Cheadle score, Joe Nield
2-3: Northwich Victoria score
2-3: Cheadle miss, Callum Collinson hits the crossbar
2-3: Northwich Victoria miss, penalty blazed over the bar
3-3: Cheadle score, Rick Whyatt
3-4: Northwich Victoria score
3-4: Cheadle miss, Robert Brocklehurst's penalty is saved
No rest for the wicked. We make the long trip up to Holker Old Boys this Saturday....
TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Dunn (Ambrose), Wood (Brocklehurst), Cotton, Whyatt, C Sherrington (Collinson). SUBS: Ambrose, Allcock (gk), Collinson, Farrow, Brocklehurst.
Cheadle Town 1-2 Stockport Town
Cheadle Town tumbled out of the NWCFL League Cup after losing at home to near-neighbours Stockport Town
An annoying/frustrating (delete as appropriate) defeat on three fronts: one, it was to neighbours who have only just moved in recently; two, the goals we conceded were in the "soft" category and three, it puts us out of a cup competition.
The first significant incident of the game after 7 minutes saw us go behind. Mottershead's scuffed shot from within the penalty box looked meat and drink for our defence but in attempting to clear it Mike Kennedy could only get his legs in a tangle and divert it past Steve Piggott.
We then grew into the game and were extremely unlucky not to equalise on the 17 minute mark: Chris Sherrington's fierce effort from a tight angle cannoning off the underside of the crossbar and somehow refusing to to in.
Ten minutes later Rathburn was through but had the ball snatched from his feet at the last minute by the Stockport keeper before we were given a reminder of the dangers of Nathan Neequaye down the other end as he was allowed to win the ball on the byline and put in a dangerous cross: thankfully it was ballooned over the bar.
On the 26th minute we did draw level with a wonderful individual effort courtesy of Rick Whyatt who danced through Stockport's midfield and defence before firing high into the net.
Rick Whyatt and Chris Sherrington celebrate after Rick had put us level with a superb solo effort
We then finished the half strongly. Just two minutes after Rick's leveller Darryhl Mason crossed in from the left for Josh Westmerland to surely side-foot home but his effort sailed over. Darryhl himself was through on goal a minute later but a heavy touch let him down, enabling the keeper to collect.
Rick Whyatt then went through on the stroke of half-time, saw his shot parried out to the edge of the box to Chris Sherrington but a bobble at the wrong moment meant his effort ended up in a Tennyson Road garden.
It's a shame that half-time came along as our momentum went and we started the second period sluggishly, conceding to give Stockport the lead once more just six minutes into the restart.
There seemed to be a period of "after you, Claude" defending as a corner from the right came in and rolled around in our six yard area. Ensuring that the "former player scores against you" box was to be ticked, Matthew German slid in and stabbed the ball over the line.
Just five minutes later and we almost drew level once more as Darryhl Mason's clipped ball into the box was headed against the post by a Stockport defender.
After that the match, and our efforts on goal, petered out. The closest we came was on 82 minutes with a Dean Nolan outside-of-the-foot shot whistling over the bar with Stockport then testing Steve Piggott late on with two efforts as injury time beckoned, denying Nathan Neequaye a goal on his return to Park Road in the first instance.
Another cup campaign beckons this weekend as we return to the FA Vase and a tricky away tie at Handsworth Parramore.
TEAM: Piggott, McLaughlin, Pearson, Trucca, Kennedy, MacAuley, Rathburn (Nolan), Westmerland (Coan), Mason, Whyatt, Sherrington (Coan). SUBS: Nolan, Pegler, Coan.
