Cheadle Town 0-1 Bacup Borough

We did everything but score. And when we did score with virtually the last kick of the match it was (wrongly, in our opinion) ruled out for offside. It felt like "one of those days".

That said it's a tad churlish to bemoan any bad luck on our part.

Firstly, we didn't help ourselves at times with some poor decision-making in key areas and secondly we were up against an inspired performance from the Bacup keeper [Aaron Ashley] who has attracted suitors over the past week (some of which were at Park Road to watch him); it's not difficult to see why.

He pulled off four excellent stops of note, three in the lead-up to half-time. He somehow managed to claw away a Liam Tongue downward header when Liam was in acres of space, denied Justin Pickering when he tried to catch him out at his near post and then made an excellent block from close range to ensure that Rhys Webb's goalscoring streak didn't continue.

...and Rhys will be still wondering how he managed to get his hand to a shot on the 64th minute; Mr Ashley producing a wonderful reflex save to tip the ball over the bar.

Add to those all of the other half-chances we had.

'Dave' Banda looked to have a clear shot on goal as early as the 9th minute but screwed his shot horribly wide with Justin Pickering then volleying inches wide a minute later.

George Blackwell had tested the keeper twice with efforts from the left before Rhys Webb was put clean through on the 15th minute, only for an unkind bobble of the ball to render his effort high and not-so handsome.

Bacup made a brighter start to their 2nd half - they had started to snap at our heels a bit quicker - and took the only goal of the game on the 51st minute...but somewhat down to the slack decision-making I referred to earlier.

Bacup's midfield seized on a wayward pass in the middle of the park and within one through-ball their no7 Anthony Hall was in on goal to stab the ball past the onrushing Adam Rigby and guide it into an unguarded net.

Bacup had their tails up and only five minutes later Adam Rigby had to pull off a great double save to keep us in the match as we failed to clear our lines.

Rick Whyatt came off the bench with 20 minutes remaining to give us a bit of extra attacking impetus.

In this final 20 Luke Hincks went agonisingly close with a cross-shot, Rhys Webb latched onto a delicious pass from Liam Tongue only for him to poke his effort wide and a Justin Pickering long-ranger was clawed away by the keeper after it had bounced awkwardly right in front of him.

With injury time coming to a close we finally had the Bacup keeper beaten, the net bulging after Rhys Webb had crashed home (what looked like a square cross) from close range, but the flap of the linesman's flag in the corner of everybody's eye confirmed that, given all the efforts and agonies of the Cheadle squad, the defeat was ever thus.

Of the 9 remaining matches, just the two remain at Park Road now. Our next appointment is Prestwich Heys away this coming Saturday.

TEAM: Rigby, Dunn, Banda, Todd (C Sherrington), Tongue, Pearson, Hincks, Magida (Whyatt), Webb, Pickering, Blackwell (M Sherrington). SUBS: Piggott (gk), Whyatt, C Sherrington, M Sherrington, Lever.

Eccleshall 1-5 Cheadle Town

Cheadle made a bright start to the game and were unlucky not to take an early lead on 6 minutes when a George Blackwell cross found James Dunn at the far post, but he could only fire wide with the goal at his mercy.

Cheadle were finally rewarded on 21 minutes when Thabiso Magida put in a low cross from the left which found Rhys Webb who had the simple task of scoring. Cheadle then doubled their lead on 28 minutes when a Justin Pickering cross picked out Matthew German who stooped low to head home.

Cheadle continued to press for further goals and were rewarded again on 33 minutes when Pickering pick up a through ball and advanced 15 yards before he rounded the keeper to score. Cheadle’s fourth goal came on 38 minutes when Webb was played through one-on-one with the keeper before he excellently lobbed the ball over the keeper from 15 yards.

In what was a one side first half, it took until 40 minutes before Cheadle’s Adam Rigby was tested, but he was alert to the danger and made an excellent block to deny the hosts a goal.

HT: Eccleshall 0 Cheadle Town 4

Unfortunately the second half lacked the attacking domination that saw Cheadle score four goals in the first half.

Although Pickering was unlucky on 48 minutes with his 20 yard shot what was tipped over the bar by the Eccleshall keeper. Pickering then has a similar opportunity on 54 minutes which again the keeper made a great save.

On 60 minutes, a long pass from Liam Tongue found the Pickering on the edge of the area, but he could only watch as his shot cannoned off the crossbar.

Cheadle finally got their fifth goal of the game on 77 minutes when Webb claimed his hat trick with a headed goal from a German cross.

Eccleshall finally got some reward for their endeavours on 82 minutes when Elliott Booth scored from close range.

FT: Eccleshall 1 Cheadle Town 5

A thoroughly deserved victory for Cheadle Town who continue to pick up points in their efforts to climb the table in search of one the available play-off positions.

Cheadle Town host Bacup Borough on Saturday at Park Road Stadium – KO 3.00pm.

Cheadle Town 2-1 Carlisle City

What a crying shame that, of the 11 matches that remain, only 3 are at Park Road.

We're rather enjoying our home comforts at the moment. Amidst the current form of just one defeat in eight matches we haven't been defeated at home since the start of December [2-5 vs Charnock Richard].

Admittedly we have had the lion's share of home matches in that run. Of those 8 matches 6 have been at Park Road and now, after this latest victory, we will be on the road more often than not with some tough encounters on the way.

It might also give the Park Road pitch time to recover after another 90 minutes of trampling it could perhaps have done without. That said, our hat is tipped once more to our groundsman and to the two teams that still made for an entertaining afternoon.

We got to work straight away and were in front within the first five minutes.

After Rhys Webb and Liam Tongue had gone relatively close with efforts with a long-ranger and a free-kick respectively, it was Rhys who then profited from a blunder by the Carlisle keeper who cleared a long through ball straight into the collective bodies of Rhys and a Carlisle defender with our in-form striker then left with the simple task of walking the loose ball into an unguarded net.

Seven minutes later and our lead was extended.

Justin Pickering collected a through ball just to the left of the box and, with no other option, went for the shot across the keeper...which he somehow then misjudged and allowed the ball to squirm through his body and into the net.

Just five minutes after that we should have been 3-0 up. Justin Pickering again, clean through on the left with just the keeper to beat but this time launching his effort high and not-so-handsome into somebody's garden on Tennyson Road.

One minute later, another chance as Justin gets his head onto a cross from the right by Webb and sees it go just wide followed by a lung-busting run by Liam Tongue spoiled by his resulting shot being blocked.

On 23 minutes we carved out another opportunity when George Blackwell tore down the left with Webb getting his side-foot to his squared pass; unfortunately he didn't get quite enough purchase on it and it was gathered easily by the Carlisle keeper.

And then the waves of green-and-black attack stopped. This allowed Carlisle City to gain something of a foothold and it showed in the remaining 15 minutes of the half as they posed more of a threat and reduced the arrears.

Just after the half-hour mark they caught us napping at a free-kick and we had to hastily clear our lines close to the goal-line, Dane Smith made two key punches clear from dangerous-looking situations but then could do nothing about the free header that Wallace plunged into the back of the net on 36 minutes to make it a completely different game.

The opening 15-20 minutes of the second half weren't much to write home about. The main attraction, if you can call it that, of this period was one team going down to ten men as their no3 received his marching orders.

Carlisle hooked a cross inches wide on the hour mark and that seemed to jolt us - and the match itself for that matter - back to life.

On 67 minutes Mssrs Webb and Pickering fashioned a counter attack that saw Rhys just fail to get his toe to the final ball with Rhys then turning provider for George Blackwell two minutes later, cutting back only to see George sky a great-looking chance.

Carlisle's no8 went very close with a fierce drive on 79 minutes - Dane Smith would have had no chance if it was on-target - with Carlisle then reduced to nine men after their substitute hurled a ball at Dave Banda in frustration.

There was time for one more chance for Justin Pickering but he was to be denied by the keeper when through on goal.

As mentioned before, our travels start again this weekend when we're off down the M6 to Eccleshall before returning to Park Road the weekend after to face Bacup Borough.

TEAM: Smith, Lever (Dunn), Banda, German, Tongue, Pearson, Hincks, Whyatt (Todd), Webb (Magida), Pickering, Blackwell. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Dunn, Magida, Todd, C Sherrington.

Cheadle Town 3-1 Holker Old Boys

Manager Terry Hincks handed a debut to keeper Adam Rigby in the absence of Dane Smith and Reserve Team regular Kieron Crosthwaite made his first start in the first team following Matthew German’s one game suspension.

Cheadle made a positive start to the game and broke the deadlock as early as 7 minutes when a short corner found the feet of Rhys Webb who slotted the ball into the net.

Cheadle soon doubled their lead on 14 minutes as George Blackwell played an inch-perfect pass to Justin Pickering on the edge of the area, and the striker advanced a few yards before firing low into the corner of the goal.

Holker were awarded a penalty on 16 minutes when Jack Lever was adjudged to have fouled a player in the box. Luckily for Cheadle debutant Adam Rigby pulled off a spectacular save with his legs to deny Holker a goal.

Cheadle continued to press for another goal and Pickering and Webb were both unlucky with efforts. Then on 28 minutes a fumbled corner by the Holker keeper presented Liam Tongue with the easiest of volleys at the back post to give Cheadle a 3-0 lead.

HT: Cheadle Town 3 Holker Old Boys 0

Holker must’ve received the ‘hairdryer’ treatment at half-time as they came out in the second half looking more of a threat going forward.

Holker were rewarded for their efforts on 62 minutes when their striker headed home from close range.

The match then seemed to lack the quality of the first half as Holker players seemed more intent on arguing with the match officials over decisions made against them.

Regardless, whilst the second half may not have been a pretty affair, Cheadle did enough to claim the points from their first half performance and managed to ride out the second half to claim all three points.

FT: Cheadle Town 3 Holker Old Boys 1

February Preview

All position in table and form statistics are correct at the time of writing

Saturday 4th
Hallmark Security League First Division
Holker Old Boys (home)

Previous meeting: a 5-2 away win for us at Rakesmoor Lane earlier this season.

Position in table: 15th, 34 points from 35 matches

Form: LDWLWW

Last five seasons at Park Road
2015-16: drew 0-0
2014-15: drew 0-0
2013-14: won 4-1
2012-13: won 3-0
2011-12: drew 0-0

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Saturday 11th
Hallmark Security League First Division
Carlisle City (home)

Previous meeting: an unlucky 1-2 defeat at their place just before Christmas.

Position in table: 13th, 36 points from 26 matches

Form: WLWLLW

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Saturday 18th
Hallmark Security League First Division
Eccleshall (away)

Previous meeting: a 3-5 home defeat, right in the middle of the miserable run we had in September.

Position in table: 21st, 13 points from 27 points

Form: LLDLWL

Last five seasons at Pershall Park:
2015-16: won 6-3
2014-15: won 1-0
2013-14: won 3-1
2012-13: won 2-0
2011-12: won 5-0

---

Saturday 25th
Hallmark Security League First Division
Bacup Borough (home)

Previous meeting: a dramatic 3-2 win at their place before Christmas that heralded a decent run of form

Position in table: 18th, 23 points from 27 matches

Form: LLLDLL

Last five seasons at Park Road:
2015-16: won 3-0
2014-15: did not meet
2013-14: did not meet
2012-13: did not meet
2011-12: lost 0-2 (FA Vase 1st Round)

Cheadle Town 4-0 Daisy Hill

For the record, and before we go any further, this may have been 4-0 but Daisy Hill certainly played their part in this match and must be wondering how they left Park Road having not at least got themselves on the scoresheet.

But perhaps they shouldn't be too surprised as they must be sick of the sight of SK8 2AN. We have made a lot of our 'bogey grounds' in the past but Daisy Hill's rotten record at Park Road now stretches to just 1 win in their last 12 visits in all competitions.

They clattered our crossbar after just 20 seconds of the match and kept Dane Smith relatively busy, forcing him into making a decent stop midway through the first half and then hitting the post yet again on the half-hour with us hastily hacking the ball off the line.

We didn't help ourselves at time, though, inviting pressure back on ourselves with some rash clearances from our defensive third of the pitch but I'm glad to say that everything else we executed on the day was near perfection.

It took just 7 minutes for the first of our four goals to be registered. With seemingly nothing 'on', Luke Hincks curled an inch-perfect shot in off the post from around 20 yards out.

Five minutes later and we should have been 2-0 up. Reece Webb had robbed the ball from a 'Daisy defender and charged down on goal. With the keeper storming off his line an unfortunate bobble of the ball made him miscue and his effort bounced harmlessly wide.

Reece had another effort on the 25th minute, smartly fashioning himself some space on the right of the penalty area before skidding one just wide of the post.

Just as Daisy Hill were threatening to make a real nuisance of themselves and perhaps draw level, we knocked them off their stride with two goals shortly before half-time.

On the 39th minute Matt German had spotted the run of right-back Jack Lever into the area with a delightful pass which Jack didn't waste by advancing on goal and slotting home from the angle.

With the break looming we then extended our lead even further after a mistake in the 'Daisy defence allowed Reece Webb a free shot on goal; with no bobble to thwart him this time he netted with a deft side-footed effort.

Just as they did in the first half, Daisy Hill rattled our crossbar within the first 30 seconds of play before we wrapped the three points up with our fourth goal on the 56th minute.

Luke Hincks sent over a raking diagonal ball from the left to Justin Pickering who advanced on goal, waited for the keeper to commit himself into a crumpled heap on the floor before jinking the other way and rolling home into an empty net.

Reece Webb then forced a good stop from the keeper on the 69th minute before Justin Pickering was in again on the right just moments later, seeing his effort tipped around the post.

It was almost goal number five on the 80th minute as substitute Mike Sherrington cut in from the left before unleashing a fierce drive that the keeper was equal to, with the second phase of that move then seeing Justin Pickering thump a shot off the foot of the post.

And all of this played out on a pitch whose going would be declared as "soft to heavy" by the racing fraternity. On a surface where every pass has to be sure and measured, both teams dealt with it admirably and contributed to a wonderful match.

The fact that the match took place at all is also worth a mention. Groundsmen sometimes don't get the credit they deserve but our Phil did a sterling job in making sure we all had 90 minutes of football to watch over the weekend in the face of unfavourable weather overnight.

It faces another 90 minutes of trampling this coming Saturday as Holker Old Boys make the long trip down the M6.

TEAM: Smith, Lever, Banda, Hincks (Wood), Tongue, Pearson, Whyatt (Crosthwaite), German, Webb (M Sherrington), Pickering, Blackwell. SUBS: Piggott (gk), C Sherrington, M Sherrington, Wood, Crosthwaite.

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.

Prize Draw Winners

The winners of the latest prize draw have been announced. Were you one of the lucky ones??

1st Prize (£1000)
Mr Hill, Offerton
Ticket no: 0846

2nd Prize (£500)
Mr Ramsey, Hazel Grove
Ticket no: 01592

3rd Prize (£250)
Mr Bond, Poynton
Ticket no: 02264

Cheadle Town 3-3 Whitchurch Alport

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.

Cheadle Town 2-0 Stockport Town

Merry Christmas.

A little stat for you first: believe it or not, this was the first time that we have managed back-to-back league wins all season. Seriously. It is - go and look at the Results & Fixtures page.

And what a time to get it, in front of a bumper Boxing Day crowd of 108 that had decided they'd had enough of the indoors and wanted a bit of fresh air for the afternoon.

They would have enjoyed a measured performance from us that eventually got the rewards it deserved.

After an opening quarter hour of nothing much happening Justin Pickering was the first to make an attempt on goal, being put through on the left but managing to slice his shot wide.

Just four minutes later and Webb was presented with his first chance, seeing the ball rebound to him on the edge of the area and, with the goal seemingly at his mercy, being unfortunate to have his effort blocked at the last.

With four minutes of the first half remaining our poking and prodding paid off; Justin Pickering finding Reece Webb in acres of space in the box and with all the time in the world to pick his spot.

Justin was through again just three minutes into the restart, shooting wide after being put through on the right before George Blackwell went on a mazy run down the right, cut inside and forced a great stop from the opposing keeper.

With a quarter of an hour to go the lead was doubled.

A long ball forward was chased by substitute Buckley who beat the keeper to it, nodding the ball onwards into the path of the onrushing Webb who had the simplest of tasks of prodding home into an empty net.

There was almost a third but it took a superb save to deny Rick Whyatt's excellent turn-and-shot from close range.

If our keeper Dane Smith had an energetic Christmas Day then he can be thankful that our opposition gave him very little to do, bar watching the ball roll wide of the net when one of their forwards was put clean through on the left on the 21st minute.

Three useful points...and onwards to Eccleshall away on Monday 2nd.

TEAM: Smith, Dunn, Banda, German, Tongue, Shaw, Todd (Whyatt), Russell, Webb (Magida), Pickering (Buckley), Blackwell. SUBS: Tosum, Magida, Whyatt, Buckley, C Sherrington.

Bacup Borough 2-3 Cheadle Town

Cheadle Town claimed a well deserved victory at Bacup Borough, even though they had to do it the hard way with two goals from Liam Tongue in injury time.

Last season’s fixture saw Cheadle Town share the spoils in a fantastic 5-5 draw following a great comeback after being 4-1 down, so we always knew that this fixture had the promise of goals.

Cheadle Town made a good start to the game and could have taken the lead on 2 minutes as debutant George Blackwell crossed to Nathan Tosum who could only fire his shot into the keepers hands. Then on 5 minutes Rhys Webb beat the keeper to a loose ball, but could only watch as his lob hit the bar.

Matthew German who was causing the Bacup players many problems in his advanced midfield role had a chance on 18 minutes, but his shot was well saved by the keeper.

Cheadle’s dominance was rewarded on 21 minutes when Webb managed to find some space within the area and fired a low shot past the diving keeper.

Cheadle continued to press for a further goal with some wonderful football and were denied on 28 minutes when a Blackwell’s cross found Luke Hincks on the left who put in an inch perfect cross to Webb who could only volley the ball over the bar.

HT: Bacup Borough 0 Cheadle Town 1

It was Bacup who came out the stronger side in the second half as Cheadle failed to repeat their form of the first half and the hosts were rewarded on 66 minutes when Tom Coulson headed home a corner at the near post.

Bacup then took the lead on 75 minutes when ex-Cheadle player Artjoms Butorins hit a speculative shot from 35 yards which sailed over the head of Cheadle keeper Stephen Piggott.

With 10 minutes remaining, Bacup were reduced to ten men when Nathan Emery was shown a red card for a bad challenge.

This seemed to ignite Cheadle as they pressed forward for an equaliser and Liam Tongue’s 25 yard effort on 81 minutes was well saved by the Bacup keeper.

As the game was drawing to a close, Cheadle got their equaliser as Tongue scored from an angle. Then 4 minutes into injury time a Tongue shot seemed to take a deflection and sent the keeper in the opposite direction as the ball rolled across the line to give Cheadle a much deserved and needed victory.

Oswestry Town 2-1 Cheadle Town

Cheadle Town failed to capitalise on their chances and possession as hosts FC Oswestry Town claimed all three points on a cold afternoon in Shropshire.
 
In similar fashion to the reverse fixture at Park Road Stadium back in August, it was Cheadle Town who had the majority the play throughout the first 45 minutes.
 
On 6 minutes, Michael Sherrington found space on the edge of the area but could only force his ling range effort wide of the post. Soon after on 9 minutes, a misfired shot from Liam Tongue found the feet of Rhys Webb who’s quick reaction could only guide the ball into the keepers arms.
 
Cheadle continued to press for the first goal and were denied on 16 minutes when Joseph Shaw received a corner at the back post and his powerful drive was well saved by the keeper.
 
FC Oswestry’s first real chance fell on 29 minutes when Dane Smith pulled off a good save with his legs and the subsequent shot was cleared off the line by Matthew Todd.
 
Webb then was presented with another opportunity on 37 minutes when he was played through on the left where his shot from an angle hit the side netting.
 
HT: FC Oswestry Town 0 Cheadle Town 0
 
FC Oswestry took an early second half lead on 49 minutes when Brendon Price found space between the Cheadle defence to fire a low shot from 10 yards.
 
Cheadle were soon back in the game with an equaliser on 52 minutes when Sherrington trapped the ball on his chest and fire a low volley past the keeper from the edge of the area.
 
No sooner has Cheadle equalised, FC Oswestry forced Smith to make great block to prevent a goal.
 
FC Oswestry took the lead on 61 minutes when substitute David Hartshorn tapped home following a cross that eluded the Cheadle defence.
 
Sherrington had a chance on 75 minutes, but could not find a gap to fire home from close range.
 
Late on in the game, a melee players were involved in an altercation which resulted in FC Oswestry’s Hartshorn receiving a red card.
 
FT: FC Oswestry Town 2 Cheadle Town 1