All of the latest news from the club
Cheadle Town 3-3 Whitchurch Alport
Six goals - and the points - were shared in an eventful encounter at Park Road
Happy New Year.
And what a match to kick 2017 off with. A rambunctious affair with six goals thrown in, one of which will be remembered for many years to come by those that were lucky enough to witness it.
From a neutral's perspective a draw was probably a fair result but from our point of view it was the least we deserved for a spirited display, refusing to bend the knee as we came from behind thrice to claim our richly-deserved point.
This game didn't take long to spring to life. As early as the first minute the Alport no9 - Simon Everall - found himself through on goal but was thwarted by an excellent stop by Dane Smith.
It was our turn to then get a hold of the game as George Blackwell scooped a shot just over the bar from the edge of the area and Justin Pickering then fired an effort just wide of the post following a neat move.
Dane Smith then had to make another block from a tight angle as Everall almost profited from a loose pass in the defence before his dangerous-looking cross from the right was scrambled away by Banda on the 20 minute mark.
Three minutes later Everall got his reward for his industry by latching onto a through pass from the Alport no11 and slotting home to Smith's right. This came at a bad time for us as it was becoming evident that centre-back Joe Shaw was struggling with his asthma, a struggle he eventually lost soon after Whitchurch's opener meaning that Magida was brought on to replace him with the back line being shuffled.
As the half came to a close Dane Smith denied Everall once again before Justin Pickering then got himself in a promising position on the edge of the box but just couldn't find the space to get the shot away.
And then, within stoppage time of the first-half, we drew level.
And it was the most direct of goals. A route-one clearance from Smith was misjudged by an Alport defender who allowed it to bounce over him; the alert Matthew Todd was able to sneak around the back of him and jab the ball over the head of the oncoming keeper.
The second half was only nine minutes old when another goalscoring opportunity presented itself to Alport, this time in the shape of a penalty that Blundell smashed home.
And just five minutes after that, the moment of the match and the early contender for goal of the season that drew us level.
To the untrained eye there didn't seem to be anything "on" for Justin Pickering when he picked up a pass in the middle of the field but in a flash he caught the ball on the bounce and unleashed a dipping 40-yard shot that nestled into the top half of the net.
Our tails were up and we then could have edged ourselves in to the lead. Webb was denied by a good save at the near post with a George Blackwell corner then scuttling across the face of the goal with nobody around to perform the simple task of poking the ball home.
Straight down the other end Alport's Everall performed a neat turn-and-shot in the area that flashed just wide of the post before the visitors regained the lead on the 65th minute with their own pick of the goals when Blundell cut inside from the right and unleashed an unstoppable effort.
On 78 minutes another of George Blackwell's corner caused problems for Alport as Matthew Todd went sliding in at the near post and almost connected before Banda was on-hand to hack clear after Dane Smith had seen a shot squirm out of his grasp.
With just three minutes remaining we were back on terms. A corner in from the left was met by all manner of heads either trying to head home or head clear with the ball spilling loose to the feet of Thabiso Magida to crash home from close range.
And we could have won it.
In stoppage time Liam Tongue went on a mazy run down the right and clipped a cross in to the far post where Matthew German was unmarked and looked set to score, but somehow the ball bounced over his feet to safety. Had he connected I'm sure he would have enjoyed it as it would have been perfect redemption in the face of the unwanted attention he was getting from the more vocal members of Whitchurch's travelling support.
We're starting to drum up a half-decent run of form: two wins and one draw in the last three against a team that certainly fancies itself for the play-off picture (our local rivals), a team that might have fancied itself for the play-off picture (Bacup Borough) and a team that most certainly will be up there at the end of the season (Whitchurch).
Next up is an interesting-looking home encounter against Silsden: one of the relegated sides from the Premier Division and in-form going into 2017.
TEAM: Smith, Dunn, Banda, German, Tongue, Shaw (Magida), Todd, Russell (Wood), Webb (Tosum), Pickering, Blackwell. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Magida, Tosum, Wood.
Whitchurch Alport 0-0 Cheadle Town
Cheadle Town came away with a well-deserved point from top-of-the-table Whitchurch after a spirited display at Yockings Park
For a match that had two more goals, last week's encounter in Blackpool couldn't hold a candle to this action-packed thriller.
Come to think of it, candles - specifically more of them - might not have been a bad idea at Yockings Park over the weekend. One, to warm the toes of the 203 hardy souls that had turned up as temperatures plummeted well below that of what could be considered reasonable and two, to shed a bit more light on the pitch at times as the fog - coming and going as it pleased throughout the afternoon - posed a few problems.
Both sides came away from this scoreless for differing reasons.
Cheadle goalkeeper Dane Smith won't be receiving any Christmas cards from Whitchurch's forward line in a hurry.
As early as the 7th minute he was equal to a first-time shot from close-range, somehow tipping it over the bar with his heroics going one better within the final last five minutes of the match, beating away a penalty kick and then acrobatically getting his mitt to a free-kick in injury time.
Had that penalty gone in then it would have been incredibly harsh on us. Whitchurch had other half-chances on top of what Dane managed to keep out but we played our part in the match and in no way would have deserved to come away with nothing.
You could argue that our reason for being scoreless was pretty much our own fault as we squandered a host of chances.
On the 10th minute Liam Tongue sent Rhys Webb through on goal with the resulting effort being rolled wide of the post with Webb getting on the end of a Magida square ball ten minutes later only for him to stab the ball over the bar.
On 23 minutes Webb was through for the third time but his shot was excellently blocked by the legs of the Alport keeper.
Shortly after the restart Mike Sherrington looked set to score after working himself into a good position on the edge of the box but ended up firing over the bar with him then rifling a shot right across the face of goal - and inches wide of the post - just moments later.
Shortly before Dane's penalty save ensured that all the hard work wouldn't be in vain we had sent cross after cross into the Alport area, with either nobody there to convert or us cursing the fact that we didn't have any players nine-foot tall to get on the end of them.
Our last attempt on goal was courtesy of Rick Whyatt who shot just wide of the post on 89 minutes.
A somewhat disappointing point last week; an excellent point this week. Whichever way you look at it the league form is now just the one defeat in the last seven matches which, in anybody's eyes, is a step in the right direction....
TEAM: Smith, Todd, Banda, Wood (Whyatt), Tongue, Shaw (Flannery), Hincks, Russell (Tosum), M Sherrington, Webb, Magida. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Whyatt, Tosum, Flannery.
Whitchurch Alport 1-4 Cheadle Town
Cheadle Town hit the top of the table as they ran out comfortable winners in Shropshire
Cheadle Town made their first visit to Whitchurch Alport on a wet and blustery November afternoon as they looked to continue their recent impressive form of late.
Following an early morning pitch inspection and a further inspection carried out by the match officials, the game was declared ON.
Terry Hincks had the shuffle the pack once again due to absences and injuries and in came goalkeeper Thomas Elford for his debut to replace Josh Samberg who had been recalled back to his parent club, Ashton Town. There was also a debut for striker Alfons Fosumensah and defender Michael Sacks.
Cheadle Town started the game in the best possible way when on 8 minutes Luke Hincks was played through and he managed to slide the ball past the oncoming keeper to give Cheadle an early lead.
Cheadle further increased their lead on 37 minutes when Liam Tongue picked up a clearance from the Whitchurch defence before unleashinga shot from the edge of the area that beat the keeper easily.
HT: Whitchurch Alport 0 Cheadle Town 2
Cheadle continues to press for a third goal in an attempt to kill off the game and were rewarded on 56 minutes when Tongue reacted quicker to gain possession outside the area and curled a beauty of a goal into the top corner.
Cheadle sealed the game on 72 minutes when substitute James Horan chased down a through ball and chipped the oncoming keeper from 30 yards.
Whitchurch did get a consolation of a goal back on 77 minutes when their defender was left unmarked and looped a header into the corner of the net.
Overall it was a fantastic performance in difficult conditions saw Cheadle Town top the table over the weekend – a feat that has not happened for many years.
November Preview
A not-so-busy November ahead for our First XI but some key fixtures nonetheless....
Saturday 7th
Irlam (away)
First Division Trophy 2nd Round
Our first November fixture offers us the chance to step away from the stress of the league campaign and focus on the smaller of the two "domestic" cup competitions, the First Division Trophy.
Our record at Silver Street isn't that bad, upset only by the one defeat in our last five visits there but we will have to be wary of an Irlam outfit that have had a very good season thus far; at the time of writing they are sitting in 6th spot and have only been defeated twice at home.
This visit will also give us the opportunity to see how their new clubhouse is coming along. Going off what we have seen on social media it looks very smart indeed.
Irlam's new clubhouse - from the outside...
...and on the inside. We can only look on in envy.
A win takes you into the quarter finals, the format of which will be announced by the NWCFL soon after all ties have completed.
Previous five seasons at Silver Street:
2014-15: drew 2-2
2013-14: lost 0-1
2012-13: won 5-3
2011-12: won 3-1
2010-11: won 2-1
Wednesday 18th
Eccleshall (away)
NWCFL First Division
Re-arranged from Saturday 14th (due to Eccleshall having a Staffordshire Vase tie), this will be our third midweek trip to Pershall Park in succession. A long night awaits, especially if the M6 is up to its usual tricks.
They may be rock bottom of the table but don't let that fool you. They still have plenty of games-in-hand to haul themselves out of trouble and gave us plenty of food for thought when they came to Park Road earlier in the season.
Previous five seasons at Pershall Park:
2014-15: won 1-0
2013-14: won 3-1
2012-13: won 2-0
2011-12: won 5-0
2010-11: lost 2-3
Saturday 21st
Northwich Manchester Villa (home)
NWCFL First Division
As this goes to press Northwich Manchester Villa have an FA Vase 1st Round replay versus Whitley Bay pending which puts this fixture in a "50-50" status as it's the 2nd round on Saturday 21st.
The fact that they have taken Whitley Bay to a replay should tell us that this won't be easy.
Despite our relatively good record at Park Road against 'Villa the victories haven't come without extraordinary effort on our part; 'Villa have always proved to be hard work and you never know what you are going to get when you face them.
At the time of writing they were in good league form. Another difficult afternoon awaits.
Previous five seasons at Park Road:
2014-15: won 2-1; lost 2-3 (Cheshire Senior Cup)
2013-14: lost 1-2
2012-13: won 2-1
2011-12: won 3-0
2010-11: did not meet
Saturday 28th
Whitchurch Alport (away)
NWCFL First Division
The powers-that-be at Yockings Park won't thank me for this but if I was a betting man I'd put my money on a draw.
Yockings Park - somewhere new for us to tick off the list
At the start of November the NWCFL newcomers had already clocked up nine draws, seven of which at Yockings and were it not for two late goals for us in the fixture at Park Road at the start of the season, the number of draws would have been ten.
We always like to go somewhere new so we are looking forward to our first visit there...and to hopefully come away with all three points before a difficult-looking December schedule hoves into view....
Bonfire Night by Ismail Mia is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
Cheadle Town 5-3 Whitchurch Alport
Another madcap game saw Cheadle Town claim their first win of the season. Here are the photos from the match.
Cheadle Town gained their first victory of the season in goal thriller of a match against newcomers to the League, Whitchurch Alport.
With twelve goals being scored in Cheadle’s previous two games, the spectators who attended Saturday’s game surely were not banking on another eight goals being added to that tally.
Indeed Cheadle Town were on the back foot within the first minutes of the game as Whitchurch forced Stephen Piggott into a good save to deny the visitors an early goal.
That early scare seemed to give Cheadle the necessary lift and on 4 minutes Richard Whyatt gave Cheadle the lead after latching onto a loose ball following a looping cross from the right by Christopher Rathburn.
James Horan had a great opportunity to increase Cheadle’s lead on 11 minutes, but agonisingly watched as his well placed header was cleared off the line by an Whitchurch defender. Then on 21 minutes Christopher Sherrington found some space in the area and fired a shot that rebounded off the post.
Cheadle’s lead was undone on 25 minutes when Luke Woollam beat the offside trap and raced through on goal to slot the ball past the oncoming Piggott.
At this stage of the game it was end-to-end with Jonathan McLaughlin going close on 33 minutes with a screaming 30 yard effort that went just wide. Cheadle’s pressure was finally rewarded on 35 minutes when Whyatt got his second goal of the game with a well placed header.
The lead was short-lived as Whitchurch drew level on 45 minutes when JJ Bailey latched onto a loose ball in the area and beat Piggott with a well placed shot.
HT: Cheadle Town 2 Whitchurch Alport 2
The second half began rather cautious for both sides and it wasn’t until 62 minutes when Cheadle’s Horan saw his shot hit the woodwork, before James finally scored a well earned goal on 71 minutes when he perfectly chipped the oncoming goalkeeper from 15 yards out to give Cheadle the lead again.
That lead lasted until 81 minutes when Whitchurch equalised again when a free kick was lofted to the far post and Woollam headed home.
With time running out Cheadle were provided with a golden opportunity to win the game on 90 minutes when they were awarded a penalty. Luke Pearson held his nerve and coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net to give Cheadle the lead in this game once again. Cheadle hadn’t finished there, and four minutes later they put the game to bed when Sherrington fired a low shot past the keeper.
