Cheadle Town 2-2 Silsden

In contrast to the lack of endeavour in the second half at Abbey Hulton the other night, we got it in spades this time thus earning a well-deserved point against one of the two teams that will surely be playing Premier Division football next season.

We restricted the league leaders to very little in the second half thus allowing ourselves to claw back a two-goal disadvantage.

It took until the 67th minute for our improved performance to bite. Joe Nield - who had a superb match at right-back - put in a delicious, hanging cross right onto the path of an unmarked Rick Whyatt to plunge an unstoppable header past the Silsden keeper.

That one marked goal number 20 for Mr Whyatt in all competitions this season.

A double-substitution shortly afterwards saw Luke Farrow enter the fray, and it was he who got our equaliser with nine minutes remaining.

A ranging, diagonal ball over to the left tempted the Silsden keeper out of his area to come and collect it but he wasn't as equal to the ball as Luke who stole in and planted it home.

With injury time looming we almost nicked all three points as Callum Collinson hooked just wide following a free-kick but the point was just reward for the second-half performance, thank you very much.

The first half was mainly Silsden's as they raced to that two-goal lead within the first half hour.

After just three minutes - we have developed a really bad habit of conceding early - a ball through the middle was collected by Aidan Kirby who saw Danny Whiting coming off his line and coolly lobbed him.

Danny then had to perform two key blocks with barely ten minutes on the clock before John McLaughlin was desperately unlucky when his snap-shot from the edge of the area struck the foot of the post with the Silsden keeper rooted.

Luke Cotton was then put through on the right on 11 minutes but scuffed his shot wide before Silsden's Barnes rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort.

On the half-hour the visitors got their second goal after we failed to clear a corner in from the left, allowing Reece Kendall to eventually nod it home from close range.

Weather permitting we have another home match tomorrow evening [Wednesday 4th April] and then, thankfully, a weekend off before a really grueling end of season run-in.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, McLaughlin, Holt (Plumb), Shaw, Harrison, Dunn, Wood, Cotton (Collinson), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Farrow). SUBS: Collinson, Plumb, Farrow, Piggott (gk).

Silsden 0-3 Cheadle Town

So that's that. We'll pick the bones out of the 16-17 season in the coming weeks when we review what happened but, as far as the here and now is concerned, it has been a wonderful end to the season.

Another solid performance against a half-decent Silsden outfit continued our barnstorming end to the campaign: 5 consecutive victories with 20 goals scored and just the 3 conceded.

The clean sheet was admirably maintained by John McIlwaine.

He was called into action as early as the 2nd minute to make a good parry and then thwarted their no10 who was through on goal just after the half-hour mark. Had he not been successful with an amazing double save on 58 minutes it wouldn't have counted anyhow (as the linesman's flag was up) but that would be unfair to tarnish a remarkable stop.

By that time we were two goals to the good thanks to a double from Rhys Webb in the first half.

We had already seen Mike Sherrington denied at the last by the Silsden keeper before Rhys collected the ball on the edge of the box on the 18th minute with two markers in attendance; shifting the ball inside onto his right foot he then curled a beauty into the corner of the net.

With just two minutes of the first half remaining he set off down the left and into the area with, again, two Silsden defenders tracking his every move. With consummate patience he waited for said minders to commit themselves before cutting inside and driling home from close range.

That was goal number 26 for Rhys and in the second half he should have clocked up numbers 27 and 28.

Benefiting from a kind ricochet off the referee's heel he was clear on goal only for him to lash his effort horribly wide and then on the 80th minute was perhaps given far too much time to think as he had all the time in the world in the box to pick his spot but ended up curling it wide.

It was at this point that Dane Smith entered the field to reprise his unfamilar role up front for the third time this season.

Surely convinced that his chance to get on the season's scoresheet had passed against Atherton LR the week before when he somehow missed from a yard out, he mustn't have believed his luck when Rick Whyatt's benevolence gave him another opportunity two minutes into stoppage time and with the last kick of the match.

Through on the right and looking set to score, Rick unselfishly squared for Dane....

For me to report that the whole Cheadle bench erupted as if we had won the First Division title should tell you that he managed to crash home a left-footed howitzer into the top corner, bringing a not-so-perfect season to the most perfect end possible.

And let's remember it that way.

Summer beckons and with it focus on 17-18. Watch this space for a review of what went before it.

TEAM: McIlwaine, Todd, Banda, German, Tongue, Pearson (Burton), Hincks, Blackwell (Smith), M Sherrington (Whyatt), Webb, Dunn. SUBS: Burton, Whyatt, Smith (gk)

Cheadle Town 5-2 Silsden

Happy New Year. Again.

Thus far January 2017 is in stark contrast to January 2016. Whereas '16 saw a four-match losing slump that would ultimately see us drop out of the top two, '17 is heralding something of a renaissance; this victory stretched the unbeaten run to four matches.

Silsden will (rightfully) bemoan the fact that they had some key players missing for this match, but as the cliche goes you can only beat what is put out in front of you. We did just that with an air of style in the second half - no mean feat given that the Park Road baize wasn't looking its best by then - and a scoreline bordering on the emphatic.

Our bright start - we had forced the Silsden keeper into making two excellent stops with his legs as early as the 3rd minute - was rudely punctured on the 6th: a long ball forward caught our defence a bit square and Silsden's Wademan stole in to poke the ball over the oncoming Smith.

Justin Pickering, with the memory of last weekend's wonder goal still fresh in his memory, tried another ambitious effort on 13 minutes but his effort from the left of field was just over the crossbar.

The match then hit something of a lull with our efforts being let down by the final ball...until the 24th minute. George Blackwell's excellent run down the left was rewarded with a goal when Reece Webb tapped home his squared ball.

Silsden then rallied, forcing us into a bit of urgent defending and then making us wipe our collective brows as perhaps they should have retaken the lead on the 31st minute; a cross-shot rebounding back off the crossbar, catching us a bit unawares and us blessing our luck as the pull-back was blazed hopelessly wide with the goal at mercy.

We rallied back when Matt German stung the palms of the Silsden keeper with a piledriver before we took the lead with a well-worked goal on the 36th minute mark. Justin Pickering seemed to be no threat out wide on the right but that all changed with the blink of an eye when he jabbed a teasing inside ball to the unattended Luke Hincks who drove into the box and slotted home.

Silsden then had one last parting shot in the first half when their no11 - Niall Sultan - was through on goal on the left but opted for a pass to the far post to a colleague that was never going to get there.

Whereas the first half was fairly even-stevens, the second half was dominated by us and by the time stoppage time had come around, the scoreline reflected it.

The second half was barely a minute old when George Blackwell collected a cross from the right, turned smartly and fired inches wide.

Ten minutes later and we stretched our lead. A corner in from the left was squared back across the edge of the area to an awaiting Liam Tongue who swept home into the far corner.

Three minutes later Luke Hincks went on a mazy run down the left but was denied at the death just as he was about to pull the trigger before he then got onto the end of a flowing move at the edge of the box but just couldn't find enough power in the shot to trouble the keeper.

Our relentless poking and prodding produced our fourth goal on the 66th minute. Thabiso Magida's cross from the left was flicked on by the head of a Silsden defender but only into the path of Justin Pickering whose outstretched leg prodded home.

Just two minutes after that it could have been five when Luke Hincks' sheer determination on the left saw him get the better of his marker and drill the ball to the far post where George Blackwell forced the keeper into an excellent block.

In the final ten minutes Justin Pickering tried to improve his tally for the day, firing just over with another curling effort and then being put through on the right before shooting just wide before he was presented with an easier opportunity as the 90th minute ticked over.

With Silsden trying their best to reduce arrears we forced a counter attack which saw Justin one-on-one with the keeper. His cool finish put the perfect cap on an excellent team performance in the second half and one that isn't spoiled by Silsden getting one back with the last kick of the game.

Onwards we go...to another interesting encounter away at high-flying Sandbach United next Saturday.

TEAM: Smith, Dunn (Magida), Banda, Todd, Buckley (Wood), Tongue, Hincks, German, Webb (Tosum), Pickering, Blackwell. SUBS: Magida, Tosum, M Sherrington, Whyatt, Wood.