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Rochdale Town 2-6 Cheadle Town
Cheadle Town ended their regular league campaign with an emphatic victory at The Mayfield
We rather like The Mayfield. This was our fifth win there in our last six visits in all competitions and it was a win executed in emphatic style with an impressive, measured performance that had everybody's nerves eased by half-time.
It was 'Dale that registered the first decent chance on goal, in fact. On 6 minutes they managed to force their way through in the box and force Steve Piggott into an excellent close-range block.
Three minutes later we opened our account with our first significant effort on goal. Mike Sherrington got onto the end of a ranging pass and controlled it superbly before firing home into the bottom corner.
'Dale kept nibbling away at us and got their reward just before the quarter-hour. After an effort was cleared off the line the resulting corner saw Burgess unmarked at the far post and he had the easy task of tapping home.
We responded immediately.
Rick Whyatt was put through on goal but saw his effort blocked with him then hooking a shot inches wide of the post after Mike Sherrington had headed the ball back into his direction from a long throw-in.
It was Mike that got us back into the lead on 17 minutes.
Receiving the ball on the left of midfield he went on a diagonal run towards goal and looked as though he had given the 'keeper a chance to smother the ball with a heavy touch but one last flick of the foot poked it under the keeper's body to restore our lead.
A lead which was then extended with two quickfire goals after the half-hour mark.
Neat interplay across the edge of the box resulted in Liam Tongue finishing sharply with Thabiso Magida then going on a run down the right, cutting back inside and advancing on goal before tucking home at the near post.
Unfortunately we had lost Mike Sherrington to injury just before half-time but his replacement Josh Stevenson got into the action early doors in the second half, firing just wide after a neat turn and then striking the upright.
On 57 minutes we got our fifth, and Liam Tongue his place at the top of our goalscorers chart by beating the offside and slamming home from the edge of the box.
Carl Fitton converted a penalty for the home side to reduce arrears on 62 minutes but the victory never looked in any danger as we started to manage the game well for the remaining period.
In which there was one more goal and a hat-trick for Liam Tongue after he profited from some good work down the right from Josh Stevenson who had pulled the ball back for him to finish with ease from close range.
What happens now is out of our hands. We've done everything that we can to secure a play-off place; nine points in the last three matches was a must and that was achieved, albeit with a few hearts-in-mouths on the way (Daisy Hill).
If the footballing gods are going to be kind to us this season we need St Helens to fail to beat Hanley Town tonight [Thursday]. Should they manage to win then all is not lost; we just have to rely on Daisy Hill going to Bacup Borough and getting a win.
All being well our next game will be the play-off semi-final on Monday night, either away to Barnton or Stockport Town. Failing that...well, that's it, I suppose, and keep your eyes peeled for the end-of-season reviews on here.
But let's hope I don't have to write those for another week yet.
TEAM: Piggott, Dunn, Pearson, Trucca, Young, Moores, Smallwood (McLaughlin), Tongue, M Sherrington (Stevenson), Whyatt (Horan), Magida. SUBS: Nsimbe, Horan, McLaughlin, Stevenson.
February Preview
What's in store for our First XI this coming month?
January 2016 wasn't much cop: not a solitary league point to our name. Here's hoping February 2016 is a little bit better....
Saturday 6th
Rochdale Town (away)
After four matches on-the-bounce at Park Road it's a relief to be on the road again.
Rochdale Town may be saying the opposite: of the 20 league matches they have played at the time of writing, only 6 have been at The Mayfield so I'm sure they'll only be too glad to be on home turf for a change.
Our record here isn't that bad - only one defeat in our last six visits here - but we are well aware that a poor performance on our part against Rochdale Town will be punished, something that was ably demonstrated by our 0-3 home defeat in the reverse fixture back in autumn.
Previous five seasons at The Mayfield:
2014-15: won 4-2
2013-14: won 2-0
2012-13: lost 0-1
2011-12: won 1-0; won 3-2 (FDT)
2010-11: won 3-1
Tuesday 9th
Hanley Town (away)
A crucial clash.
A quick glance at the table will suggest that Hanley Town hold a massive trump card where the promotion race is concerned: in one of the top two spots anyhow (at the time of writing) and with a hatful of games-in-hand as "insurance".
Our two previous visits here haven't been without angst. On both occasions we got ourselves into good positions (we were 2-0 up last time around), only to be leaving Stoke-on-Trent with nothing but wounds to lick.
After the disastrous January we need to make another statement of intent along the lines of our win at Barnton back in December. Winning here would be just the tonic.
Previous five seasons at Abbey Lane:
2014-15: lost 2-3
2013-14: lost 3-5
2012-13: did not meet
2011-12: did not meet
2010-11: did not meet
Saturday 13th
Stockport Town (home)
Oh joy of joys, a local derby.
If you enjoy the tension of such occasions then go and see a doctor. To be frank, parochial willy-waving is not for me and unfortunately the football itself ends up coming second. Anyhow....
This could end up being another important fixture as far as the play-off shake-up is concerned as Stockport Town are also in the mix. Both sides already have one win to their name in this fixture - Stockport Town taking the First Division Trophy tie and us taking the three points at Lambeth Grove in the league fixture.
Any takers for the draw?
Saturday 20th
Atherton LR (home)
The NWCFL fixture gods have given us a week off on Saturday 27th (thus far - anything can change!) so this will be our swansong for February.
Not much to say about this fixture other than we hope to add LR to our list of teams that we have done the double over this season, thanks to a very comfortable 4-1 win at Crilly Park back in October.
If all of the above four fixtures take place as expected, then there will only be eight league fixtures left. Eight. Yes, the season end is that near already....
Previous five seasons at Park Road:
2014-15: won 2-1
2013-14: drew 1-1
2012-13: won 1-0
2011-12: did not meet
2010-11: did not meet
Cheadle Town 0-3 Rochdale Town
Cheadle Town's slump in form continued as they fell to a disappointing 0-3 defeat at the hands of Rochdale Town
Our first league defeat at home this season and the first time we have failed to score this season; I think this is what they call "a bad night at the office".
We had our half-chances - more of those in a bit - but we were far from what we would call our best all evening and if we're brutally honest with ourselves can have absolutely no complaints about Rochdale Town taking all three points back home with them.
With the few half-chances that we did create, it also felt as though our scoreline would still be "nil" if we were still playing now.
On the 15th minute the 'Dale keeper smacked a clearance against the onrushing Darryhl Mason. Maybe seven times out of ten the ball does the decent thing and allows Darryhl the free run on goal; on this occasion it rolls just out of his reach and out of play.
Five minutes later and Darryhl is unmarked in the box and on the end of a left-wing cross, but this evening he gets his footing all wrong at the last minute and his intelligent attempt to back-flick it in sails harmlessly over the bar.
Those were the only two incidents of note in a turgid opening half hour until we went and handed Rochdale their opening goal on a plate.
Coming out to deal with a lofted through-ball, Josh Samberg managed to both miss it and collide with one of his own defenders with the ball squirming free for Rochdale's Jonny Thompson to roll it home off the post from the edge of the box.
Two minutes later Rochdale extended their lead. Possession was lost in our midfield with the denouement being Scott Alfrey rifling home from the edge of the box.
The second half started as uneventfully as the first and suddenly woke up with around 20 minutes to go as we looked to get a foothold in the game.
The ever tireless Darryhl Mason fizzed one across the goalmouth on 68 minutes but Mssrs Sherrington and Whyatt were just short of getting on the end of it.
Josh Samberg then made a good double save a minute later, pushing away a Rochdale long range effort and then recovering quickly to block the follow-up shot at his near post.
The 75th minute saw a minor turning point in the game from a Cheadle point of view. Chris Sherrington's cross from the left was met with the meatiest of headers from Rick Whyatt only for it to cannon off the underside of the bar and bounce away to safety. That goes in and it's a different game as it might have given us the impetus to go on a get a result.
As it turns out that was to be our last significant knock on the Rochdale door. With the game petering out to its evident conclusion the visitors went and capped their win in injury time, breaking away and taking all the time in the world to allow Kyle Jackson to stroke home from close range.
To Crilly Park this weekend where two things need arresting: one, this bad run of form of ours that hasn't seen us win any of our last five matches in all competitions and two, the fact that we are yet to win away from home in the league this season.
Onwards.
TEAM: Samberg, McLaughlin (Vincent), Pearson, Trucca, Kennedy (Rathburn), MacAuley, Magida, Westmerland (Nolan), Mason, Whyatt, Sherrington. SUBS: Nolan, Rathburn, Vincent.
The photos and match footage below are reproduced with very kind permission of David Wright.
