2015-2016 Season Review: In Numbers

Final League Position and Points
6th place with 56 points; 10 more points than last season and 4 places better off

Home League Record
6 wins, 4 draws, 7 defeats

Away League Record
10 wins, 4 draws, 3 defeats

Goals Scored
102 in total: 44 at home, 58 away. A massive +29 goals scored on last season.

Goals Conceded
80 in total: 36 at home, 44 away. Exactly the same number conceded as last season!

Goals Scored Half-by-Half
47 in the first half, the remaining 55 in the second

Top Scorer
Liam Tongue with 20. Over half of them scored in the last 9 games of the campaign! Incredible.

Biggest Win
10-1 v Atherton LR at home, North West Counties Division One

Heaviest Defeat
We never lost a game by more than 3 goals. The instances were:
* 0-3 v Rochdale Town at home, North West Counties Division One
* 3-6 v Tranmere Rovers at home, Cheshire Senior Cup 2nd Round
* 1-4 v Irlam (away), North West Counties Division One
* 1-4 v Barnton (away), Play-Off Semi-Final

Most Consecutive Wins
A run of 3 was achieved on 3 occasions:
* From the 1-0 win at Chadderton to the 2-0 home win v Widnes in October
* From the 4-1 win at Whitchurch Alport to the 3-0 home win v Bacup Borough in November/December
* The last three games of the season, from the 3-0 away win at Northwich Manchester Villa to the 6-2 away win v Rochdale Town

Most Consecutive Games Unbeaten
A run of 5 unbeaten was achieved twice:
* The first five games of the season, from the 5-5 draw at Bacup Borough to the 4-0 win at home v Daisy Hill
* From the 4-1 win at Atherton LR to the 2-0 home win v Widnes in October

Most Consecutive Games Without a Win
6 - the horrendous start to the new year that almost derailed everything, from the 1-2 home defeat to Ashton Town through to the 2-2 draw at Hanley Town

League Doubles
4 - Atherton LR, Daisy Hill, Whitchurch Alport and Eccleshall

Percentage of League Points Gained by Venue
Quite a contrast here: 39% at home and the remaining 61% away!

League Points Gained as a Percentage of Total Points Possible
55% - a massive improvement on last season's 43%!

Impact of Cheadle Scoring or Conceding First in a Game
Perhaps the most telling statistic of them all. This has been a trait of ours for the past three or four seasons now; as you can clearly see in the graphs below, us scoring first means that we are more likely to come away from the game with a result.

What Happened When We SCORED First?

What Happened When We CONCEDED First?

The Timing of Scoring and Conceding
One thing to note here is the similarity between both charts. The fact that we score a lot of goals late on could be deemed as encouraging...but we also concede a lot late on and all.

When Did We SCORE in Our Games?

...and When Did We CONCEDE in Our Games?

Barnton 4-1 Cheadle Town (AET)

Eleven minutes.

That's how far away we were from booking ourselves a trip to (as it turned out) Bacup on Saturday in the play-off final and having a crack at elevating ourselves to a position last experienced back in the 1990s.

Eleven minutes. If I've made that sound like a relatively small amount of time with the tacit accusation that the squad "could have at least held on" then that isn't the intention. Far from it. I wouldn't dare insult this excellent squad in such a manner.

To have got within eleven minutes of a play-off final shows how much we have progressed and what an excellent season we have had when all is said and done. We have nothing but our gratitude to Mssrs Hincks, Trucca, Hodson and Summers for getting us this far.

Us. Cheadle Town FC. Unfashionable-but-(hopefully) lovable Cheadle Town FC...and on absolutely no budget whatsoever.

I'm not going to talk about what is possible next season on the back of this, as hyperbole along the lines of "it will be our turn next" and other associated banal platitudes won't heal the wounds or cheer anybody up at this moment in time. It will hurt for a while and we can leave such talk until August when we'll know whether we have been able to keep this current roster together and fend off any interested parties.

The best of British to Barnton in the play-off final. On our three visits to Townfield we have always been made to feel very welcome and, should they be victorious this weekend, it will be a visit that will be sorely missed.

On a long night brought about by extra time, it was that supplementary thirty minutes that did for us.

Six minutes into it a penalty was awarded, argued about vehemently and blasted home by Kevin Towey because, as his history at this level of football will tell you, that's what he does best.

That gave Barnton a 2-1 lead and it was moment from which we never really recovered or responded to.

Three minutes later and Mr Towey rifled in a free-kick from the edge of the area that squirmed through the hands of Steve Piggott and gave the hosts clear sight of Saturday.

If we could snatch a goal back then it was game on and it nearly came about thanks to a Liam Tongue free-kick, but the Barnton keeper did well to save it.

All was lost with four minutes of extra time remaining as Barnton's Rigby didn't give up hope on a loose ball and caught Steve Piggott out in two minds, lobbing it over him and into the corner of the net.

Barnton's third proved to be Kevin Towey's hat-trick as his first was the real heartbreaker on 79 minutes when his sheer persistence drove him through our defence to tuck home past Piggott. Heartbreaking because some 15 minutes earlier Rick Whyatt had gone on a mazy run and cracked the post with a low drive; such are the small margins in football.

The hosts did have the better of the second half but we certainly controlled the first, albeit being a half where chances were at a premium...

...but when our chance came it was a moment of brilliance, and let this match report end with that one moment, a happy note, and Liam Tongue confirming his place at the top of the goalscoring tree for Cheadle Town FC, 2015-16.

For when he got hold of the ball with a crisper-than-crisp drive on the 35th minute and that net billowed emphatically, we believed, we smiled, we cheered and we couldn't have been happier all season....

TEAM: Piggott, Dunn, Pearson, Trucca, Young, Moores, Smallwood (Stevenson), Tongue, M Sherrington (Horan), Whyatt, Magida (Nsimbe). SUBS: Horan, Stevenson, McLaughlin, Nsimbe.

Rochdale Town 2-6 Cheadle Town

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.

Daisy Hill 0-1 Cheadle Town

Just in the nick of time.

As the first minute of injury time ticked over and yours truly was trying his best to do the mathematics and calculate the significance of a draw, Mr Richard Whyatt - well and truly due a goal - picked the perfect moment to rekindle his netting prowess.

As it turns out results elsewhere would have meant that the draw would have all-but put paid to any hopes of us reaching the play-offs. It's still out of our own hands but the "ask" is now a bit simpler: win our remaining match at Rochdale Town and hope that St Helens Town fail to win theirs against Hanley.

On a tense afternoon at New Sirs where nerves meant that blasphemy was commonplace (sorry, Terry) we, as has been our wont this season, made hard work of it.

Our first sight of goal came after seven minutes when Thabiso Magida chased down a fluffed clearance by the Daisy keeper, with him making a good recovery to make a good save from Thab's resulting effort.

Just after the quarter-hour Mike Sherrington was put through only for him to lob his effort inches over the crossbar with Steve Piggott then called into action four minutes later when he got down to his right to make a smart stop at the near post.

Liam Tongue sent two of his specialities inches over the crossbar before half-time before the to-and-fro continued into the second half.

On 53 minutes Daisy rolled the ball across the face of our net with, thankfully, nobody there to do the simple job of tapping home with their keeper then fluffing another clearance, the ball being eventually crossed to Rick Whyatt who headed over.

Thab Magida was put clean through on 64 minutes but his attempted lift over the keeper was blocked before Jimmy Moores had to perform a superb saving tackle just as a Daisy attacker was about to shoot on goal.

With ten minutes left the Daisy keeper clawed a back post header off the line following a corner before a heart-in-mouth moment when Dave Young hacked an effort off the line.

With injury time a minute old, we got a free kick just outside the penalty box. What happened next is slightly muddled in my head, probably due to me tearing down the touchline myself to join in with the players' celebrations, but we managed to retrieve possession after the free-kick was cleared with the ball being clipped into the box from the left and Rick Whyatt bundling home from close range.

Just one match to go. But hopefully more....

TEAM: Piggott, Rodrigues (Stevenson), Pearson, Trucca, Young, Moores, Hincks, Tongue, M Sherrington, Whyatt, Magida (Horan). SUBS: Horan, Stevenson, McLaughlin.

Northwich Manchester Villa 0-3 Cheadle Town

Just the win we needed to keep our play-off hopes alive. For the first twenty minutes or so of this match it looked as though this could turn out to be a tricky evening against an energetic, enthusiastic and determined 'Villa outfit as chances for both sides were at a premium and both were struggling to keep the ball.

As the sky darkened and the air temperature cooled considerably, the game thankfully started to warm up as we racked up a host of chances.

On 26 minutes Anthony Trucca thundered a header just wide of the post from a corner before Thabiso Magida latched onto a driven ball across the face of goal from Rick Whyatt only to see his goalbound flick saved.

Just after the half-hour mark we almost witnessed one of the contenders for goal of the season as Liam Tongue ran three quarters of the length of the field only for him to plant his shot inches wide of the post.

Mike Sherrington then ballooned an effort over the bar following good work and a cut back from Magida before we finally made our pressure pay with three minutes of the half remaining: on the left of the penalty box, Liam Tongue cut inside and drilled home, beating the keeper at the near post.

It should have been two just before half time but Mike Sherrington just couldn't shape his body in time for Magida's whipped cross from the left, resulting in him heading over from very close range.

We continued where we left off after the break.

Magida was through on goal on 47 minutes but saw his effort saved, only for the loose ball to be eventually blasted over the bar by Rick Whyatt.

Five minutes later Liam Tongue tried his luck from range and was just over, Mike Sherrington rolled the ball home but was given offside and then Magida really should have made it two when put clean through on goal, but opting to check back and then harmlessly roll his effort wide.

He would get his redemption on 65 minutes, though. Good work by Mike Sherrington down the right saw him square the ball right to Magida's feet where he had the easy task of tapping home from close range.

Five minutes later and Mike Sherrington would get himself on the scoresheet, and put the game to bed, by finishing neatly from inside the area following a cut-back from the byline.

There were further opportunities to extend the lead even further. Ashley Smallwood went on a lung-busting run on 73 minutes and looked sure to finish off a fine effort when he poked the ball past the keeper but was denied by a great clearance by a 'Villa defender.

Substitute Josh Stevenson was also denied by a great save three minutes later as he connected to a cross from the left.

Absolutely nothing we can do now until a week on Saturday for our penultimate game at Daisy Hill. With ten days of other teams around us playing you fear the worst, but hope for the best.

Sit tight. It might get nervy....

TEAM: Piggott, Smallwood, Pearson, Trucca (Nsimbe), Moores, Dunn, Hincks (Horan), Tongue (Stevenson), M Sherrington, Whyatt, Magida. SUBS: McLaughlin, Stevenson, Nsimbe, Horan.

Irlam 4-1 Cheadle Town

And with this defeat we slip out of the top six for the first time since autumn; it might turn out to be a badly-timed shift as only three games remain.

Goals change games as the old adage goes, and the two that Irlam got in a two-minute spell midway through the second half unceremoniously kicked our foot away having fought hard to get it in the door before half-time.

Liam Tongue's daisy-cutting drive (he's good at those) from the edge of the box with five minutes of the first half remaining hauled us back into the match having seen the hosts race to a two-goal lead.

Jordan Southworth muscled his way onto the ball on the right on 25 minutes to drive home from the angle before Christian Lawlor tucked home at the far post after a cross from the right wasn't dealt with by our defence.

Previous to the opening goal we had a couple of decent chances on goal. Luke Pearson stung the fingertips of the Irlam keeper on 13 minutes before Mike Sherrington had actually put the ball into the net shortly afterwards, only to be denied by the linesman's flag.

Steve Piggott kept the scoreline at 1-2 with an excellent save just before half-time, getting down smartly to his right to stop a header.

We made a strong start to the second half as we pushed for the equaliser.

On 51 minutes Liam Tongue fizzed in a free-kick that spun up off the hands of the Irlam keeper; Mike Sherrington got his head onto the loose ball but could only direct it onto the post.

Steve Piggott was on-hand again to make a smart stop just after the hour mark before the match slipped out of our hands in that mad couple of minutes.

For Irlam's third, Steve had actually made an excellent double save but could do nothing to prevent Boland bundling in on the third time of asking. Confusion then reigned as the linesman had initially had his flag up, with the referee then choosing to overrule.

Still feeling slightly aggrieved we then perhaps switched off as a cross from the right was easily tapped home by an unmarked Lawlor for his second of the game and Irlam's fourth.

Three games left: Manchester Northwich Villa, Rochdale Town and Daisy Hill, all away from home. It's still possible - of course it's still possible - but we're now in the situation of it being out of our hands.

Nine points and, admittedly now, a few favours, snookers, call them what you will, is what we need.

Onwards and chins up.

TEAM: Piggott, Smallwood, Pearson, Trucca, Halliwell (McLaughlin), Dunne, Hincks, Tongue (Stevenson), M Sherrington, Whyatt, Magida (Horan). SUBS: Stevenson, McLaughlin, Horan.

Before the match, Mike Sherrington received his NWCFL Player of the Month award from the league's very own Geoff Wilkinson

Prize Draw Winners

The latest prize draw winners have been announced:

First Prize
Ticket Number 02747
Mrs D Sankey, Offerton

Second Prize
Ticket Number 03367
Mr B Allison, Cale Green

Third Prize
Ticket Number 01895
Mr M Hope, Davenport

April Preview

Saturday 2nd
Manchester Northwich Villa (away)
NWCFL Division One

Our first match of the new month takes us to plush surrounds as we go to the Manchester Regional Arena.

Where? If you've ever been to The Etihad Stadium then you may have noticed a small athletics stadium next door. This was the home of Manchester City's Women's Team before they moved across the road to the new City Football Academy. Manchester Northwich Villa have been using it as their home this season.

Manchester Regional Arena (the one at the top of the picture!)

Traditionally this is an awkward fixture for us, home or away, and a controversial match back at Park Road in the first half of the season may add some unwanted tension and truculence to this encounter.

Whatever prevails, we need a win to kick the month off.

Last five seasons away to MNVFC:
2014-2015: lost 1-2
2013-2014: lost 1-3
2012-2013: won 3-0
2011-2012: drew 1-1
2010-2011: did not meet

Wednesday 6th
Barnton (home)
NWCFL Division One

Fond memories. The (deserved) win in the reverse fixture back at the start of December cemented our place at the top of the table.

Now matters are slightly different. We're not top anymore and the three points will keep our play-off chances alive. Barnton are here for different reasons as, at the time of writing, they are neck-and-neck with Irlam for one of the promotion places.

Last five seasons at Park Road:
2014-2015: lost 0-3
2013-2014: did not meet
2012-2013: did not meet
2011-2012: did not meet
2010-2011: did not meet

Sunday 10th
Rochdale Town (away)
NWCFL Division One

The Mayfield - as you can see below, traditionally a good hunting ground for us of late.

File under "usually win there"

Alas, Rochdale Town are in rare form at the time of writing and will probably be cursing the fact that they have left their charge that little bit too late to make a significant challenge for the play-off places.

And yes, you read it right. This match IS on a Sunday.

Last five seasons at The Mayfield:
2014-2015: won 4-2
2013-2014: won 2-0
2012-2013: lost 0-1
2011-2012: won 3-2 (FDT); won 1-0
2010-2011: won 3-1

Saturday 16th
Irlam (away)
NWCFL Division One

By the time it kicks off, this third meeting between us and Irlam this season could be absolutely crucial, just as crucial as the match at Park Road the other night.

The clubhouse at Silver Street. We like it a lot.

Same importance, hopefully not the same outcome....

Last five seasons at Silver Street:
2014-2015: drew 2-2
2013-2014: lost 0-1
2012-2013: won 5-3
2011-2012: won 3-1
2010-2011: won 2-1

Saturday 30th
Daisy Hill (away)
NWCFL Division One

And so it all endeth here, at New Sirs.

Pointless to try and predict whether we'll be all checking Twitter feeds and doing ad hoc mathematics to see if we're still in the play-off picture...but let's just hope we are and thus treated to a thrilling end to the season.

Goals guaranteed in this fixture, it would seem. Not sure what another 5-4 win would do for one's health....

Last five seasons at New Sirs:
2014-2015: lost 3-4
2013-2014: won 2-0
2012-2013: won 3-1
2011-2012: won 2-1
2010-2011: won 5-4

Cheadle Town 1-2 Irlam

For everything that was gained in that well-earned win at Holker on Saturday, it seemed to be all lost in six minutes late into the second half of this match.

At the end of the Holker match report we said that all we could do is win our games and see what happens; this loss is a major blow and now leaves us with one card less in our hand.

What makes it more galling is that this is a match we should have won; yet again I have to type the words "we should have been out of sight" and yet again we have let a team off the hook by not converting the decent chances we had.

And what chances.

In the 35th minute Josh Stevenson used his blistering pace to steal a march on the Irlam defence and round the keeper; with the goal at his mercy his shot didn't quite have the legs it needed, thus allowing an Irlam defender to hack it off the line.

A minute later and we were given a penalty; that chance went begging as Magida's kick was saved by the keeper.

Three minutes before half-time, Josh Stevenson's ball in from the right looked an easy tap-in for Liam Tongue but it somehow ended up being scooped over the bar from a yard out.

Given the chances we had squandered, the goal that gave us the lead a minute after the restart was in slightly odd circumstances.

Mike Sherrington advanced on goal, checked inside and then went for it, albeit with not the strongest shot you'll ever see; it somehow still managed to squirm under the keeper's body and roll in.

That was it in terms of our chances for the rest of the match but we still appeared to be in decent control of the match.

As we entered the final twelve minutes the only thing that had caused us concern was a goalmouth scramble just after the hour mark where we defended well and managed to eventually hack the ball away.

But on that 78th minute the foundations of our hard work started to crumble.

A driven cross in from the right was parried clear by Steve Piggott with the loose ball hammered home through a sea of bodies and into the top corner by Lawlor.

Irlam then pressed on and got their winner with only six minutes of the match remaining when a free-kick in from the right wasn't cleared and, after a short moment of goalmouth havoc, was slammed home from close range by Kpohgomou.

Five games left. Next up is an awkward away fixture at Manchester Northwich Villa before our final home game of the season against Barnton next Wednesday evening. Six points are a must now....

TEAM: Piggott, McLaughlin, Magida, Trucca, Moore, Smallwood, Stevenson, Tongue, Sherrington, Whyatt, Horan (Nsimbe). SUBS: O'Donnell, Halliwell, Nsimbe.

Holker Old Boys 1-3 Cheadle Town

There is a manufacturer of a famous stout, based in the Republic of Ireland, whose advertising strapline has centred on all good things coming to those who wait.

Two minutes for a pint of stout. Mere small fry in comparison to the sixteen years that Cheadle Town Football Club have taken to register a win at Rakesmoor Lane.

The cheers at the final whistle were long and loud, not only in celebration of the hoodoo being buried but for the fact that these are three points that might prove vital in the play-off picture come the end of next month.

In a match played in torrential conditions, the words "wet and windy" don't really do it justice, we made the perfect start.

After two minutes a Mike Sherrington ball across the face of the goalmouth was tucked home at the far post by Liam Tongue.

Would this be the year where we finally got a win at Holker?

We went on the attack again six minutes later. James Horan's good work down the left seeing the ball squared for Mike Sherrington in the box but he just couldn't shape his body in time and his effort sailed wide.

The conditions were that bad that yours truly, usually holed up next to the dugout, was sent scurrying to the covered stand behind the goal that we were attacking.

A good standpoint, though, to then see Mike Sherrington clean through on goal just after the half-hour mark but denied by an excellent last-ditch tackle.

With three minutes of the half remaining, we extended the lead.

The referee played a good advantage as we advanced down the left, allowing Luke Pearson to continue a run in on goal and smash home from inside the area.

Would this be the year where we finally got a win at Holker?

The second half was more to and fro.

Rick Whyatt had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed within a minute of the restart but somehow scooped his shot wide when put clean through.

Steve Piggott then had to make a really smart save down and low to his right before Rick Whyatt missed another chance, getting his head to a Liam Tongue free-kick but shaving his effort just wide.

Liam Tongue then decided to test the keeper himself on 55 minutes, forcing him into an excellent stop from a fiercely-struck free kick before we went 3-0 up from the resulting corner, Anthony Trucca powering home a header.

Would this be the year where we finally got a win at Holker?

Just two minutes later Steve Piggott was on hand again, reacting quickly to smother two close-range efforts but he could do absolutely nothing about the penalty on 71 minutes that was struck high into his net to reduce the arrears.

A mix-up in the Cheadle defence almost let Holker in yet again which then heralded a final ten minutes where we should have put the game out of sight.

The Holker keeper denied Mike Sherrington (twice) and Josh Stevenson with good stops, with Anthony Trucca and Josh also squandering glorious chances.

There was time right at the end for Steve Piggott to cap an excellent match by tipping a free-kick onto the crossbar.

And so onto this Wednesday with another crucial match when promotion-chasing Irlam come to Park Road. All we can do is win our matches and see what happens as others complete their games-in-hand; it's going to make for an exciting end to the season.

Would this be the year where we finally got a win at Holker?

Yes...yes it would.

TEAM: Piggott, McLaughlin, Pearson, Trucca, Moore, Dunn, Smallwood, Tongue, M Sherrington, Whyatt (Stevenson), Horan (Nsimbe). SUBS: Stevenson, Nsimbe, Halliwell.

Eccleshall 3-6 Cheadle Town

Indulge me for a moment whilst I entertain you with a statistic: we've scored 84 goals in all competitions this season. 16 of those - sixteen - have come in our last two victories.

Another one for you. This was our fifth consecutive victory at Pershall Park. My own personal Cheadle Town FC results archive only stretches back so far but I think this is the best run of wins we've ever had for one particular away-day.

On the 54th minute both of those statistics looked highly unlikely as Jordan Elcock's effort sailed over Saul Lomax-Newton's head to give the hosts a strong 3-1 lead.

What followed was a barnstorming fightback. But more of that later.

Given the eventual scoreline it's hard to believe that this match took some time to really get going.

Mike Sherrington had the ball in the net on 15 minutes but was ruled offside and then couldn't quite make decent contact with a Rick Whyatt cross ten minutes later.

Mike looked clean through and certain to score just after the half-hour mark but the home 'keeper somehow managed to get something on it and deflect it away for the corner, from which James Moores had a free header but only succeeded in putting it over the bar.

On 38 minutes, our pressure told and the match really took off.

Luke Pearson floated in a corner from the right that was eventually nodded home at the far post by Mike Sherrington.

Eccleshall cast a shot across our bows straight down the other end when a volley went inches wide with them then equalising on 40 minutes when Steven Hughes drilled home from the angle.

Eccleshall's tails were up and they nudged themselves into the lead three minutes later with a well-worked move down the right, finished off by Adam Jones from close range.

Our energetic start to the second half was cut short by Eccleshall's third. If we were to get anything out of the game our response had to be quick. It ended up being better than that: it was immediate.

Straight from the restart Liam Tongue latched onto a through ball in the box and delicately poked it through the keepers' legs with a first-time shot.

The comeback was complete just four minutes later, with Liam Tongue instrumental once more.

His cross into the box from the left was clearly handballed by an Eccleshall defender in his efforts to clear it. Awaiting the referee's decision, everybody seemed to stop for that split second except Liam, who carried on and emphatically launched the loose ball into the roof of the net.

At 3-3, and despite us having most of the possession, the match still could have gone either way.

On 70 minutes Liam Tongue put Mike Sherrington through on goal but he could only sidefoot wide with Eccleshall then heading the ball off the crossbar from a corner just four minutes later.

Was that the next turning point in the match?

Possibly, as two minutes after that Liam Tongue got his hat-trick to put us 4-3 up, tucking home after a Mike Sherrington pass into the box had kindly ricocheted to his feet.

The hosts looked broken, and we capitalised to edge further ahead with two more goals in the final five minutes of the match.

James Horan was first, profiting from a Liam Tongue free-kick being spilled at his feet for him to easily tap home on 85 minutes with him then storming down the left side to roll in a delicious diagonal ball for Mike Sherrington to sweep home for Cheadle's sixth on 87 minutes.

A win that hauls us back up to 4th place in the table and keeps us, number of games played in comparison to everybody else aside, in the play-off mix.

Next up: Holker away.

Whereas Pershall Park renders a more positive statistic where away-days are concerned, the direct opposite can be said for Rakesmoor Lane. It has to change sooner or later....

TEAM: Lomax-Newton, Pearson (Horan), McLaughlin, Trucca, Moores (Halliwell), Smallwood, Stevenson (Nsimbe), Tongue, M Sherrington, Whyatt, Magida. SUBS: Halliwell, Horan, Nsimbe.

Cheadle Town 1-2 Hanley Town

A result that does wonders for Hanley Town's promotion hopes but stymies our march towards securing a slot in the play-off lottery. With just eight games to go there is some comfort in the fact that we still have to face some of the teams around us: Holker Old Boys, Barnton and Irlam (twice).

Despite the relative paucity of clear-cut chances this was quite an entertaining game with plenty of cut and thrust.

A brisk opening five minutes from us was tempered by new 'keeper Saul Lomay-Newton called into early action when he perfectly judged a trip out of his own area to thwart a Hanley attacker bearing down on goal.

He was on thwarting duties again - Hanley's talisman Theo Stair the victim this time - before Ashley Smallwood troubled the Hanley keeper after weaving inside from the left and unleashing a shot.

On the 20th minute we took the lead.

A quick throw-out from Saul started a counter-attack and, thanks to some persistence and buccaneering wingplay from Josh Stevenson, the ball was squared for Thabiso Magida to slam home from close range.

Unfortunately the lead only lasted two minutes.

Straight down the other end Saul had denied Stair again as he took too long over what looked a formality but from the resulting corner he got the better of Saul this time, heading home from close range.

In terms of clear-cut chances the second half didn't see anything significant until the 70th minute. Unfortunately the significance was that it ended up being Hanley's winning goal.

From a corner they were granted a free header at the far post. Saul's remarkable efforts to stop the ball being forced home in the ensuing chaos ended when ex-Cheadle player Matt German bundled home; not the first time he has returned to Park Road and scored for the opposition.

A glorious chance to respond went begging two minutes later when Thabiso Magida skidded a ball across the goalmouth with nobody on-hand to convert what would have been an easy chance.

Laim Tongue went mighty close with a free-kick on the 87th minute but that was pretty much that and Hanley saw out the remaining time comfortably to take another step towards Premier Division football next season.

Next up for us is a midweek trip to Eccleshall (next Wednesday). Three points are a must if we want to stay in the mix.

TEAM: Lomay-Newton, McLaughlin, Pearson, Trucca, Moores, Dunn, Stevenson, Tongue, Smallwood (Horan), Whyatt (Sherrington), Magida. SUBS: Horan, Nsimbe, Halliwell, Lovett, M Sherrington.