Cheadle Town 2-2 Chadderton

We still haven't managed to set the world alight with our home form, yet.

We were wasteful at times in front of goal for this one and yet grateful for the presence of Danny Whiting between the sticks who came up with some key saves when it mattered. All things considered, a draw was probably a fair result.

And one that we should be happy with. Chadderton were better than their 14th place would suggest, stroking the ball around comfortably and gaving us plenty to think about.

We put a shot across their bows as early as the first minute - Rick Whyatt hammering a Jake Ambrose cross over the bar - but for the next 15 minutes or so the visitors easily had the better of it.

They got Danny Whiting working early, forcing him to palm away an awkward daisy cutter on the 6th minute and then getting our defence to put in a series of blocks as they worked their way into our penalty area shortly afterwards.

Alas, as the 19th minute ticked over, and in the blink of an eye, we were 1-0 up.

Mike Sherrington collected a loose ball on the halfway line before using his pace to power forward, draw the keeper and finish from the edge of the box.

It was then our turn to dominate.

A minute later Rick Whyatt shot over after a rebound fell to his feet on the edge of the box with a glorious chance to go 2-0 up then wasted shortly after; Mike Sherrington seeing a close-range shot saved with George Clarey somehow firing the rebound wide.

Liam Delaney tried his luck from range and George Clarey caused all sorts of chaos with a well-delivered ball from the right before the pendulum swung once again and Chadderton were level: the ball was cut back from the right to find Luke Heron at the far post, his shot being too powerful for those stood on the line.

Chadderton went on to finish the half the stronger. Danny Whiting made two more excellent saves, the latter of which from a snap shot in the box that he will have seen late, with a last-ditch tackle preventing them taking the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Start of second half, start of another Cheadle spell, one which would see us re-take the lead.

Just three minutes into the restart a corner in from the left was spilled by the Chadderton keeper to the feet of Luke Hincks who swivelled and swept it home from close range.

Just five minutes later Mike Sherrington saw a shot spin off a defender and straight to the feet of George Clarey on the left who looked set to score but was denied by an excellent stop from the onrushing keeper.

On 63 minutes Chadderton struck the crossbar and it heralded another dominant period from the visitors. They drew level once more on the 68th minute when Aaron Holton danced his way to the edge of the area before drilling low to Whiting's right.

The match continued to ebb and flow as both sides went for the win.

Mike Sherrington forced a save from a tight angle, Chadderton then side-netted from a good position, saw a free-kick whistle just wide of Whiting's post, Rob Brocklehurst placed a free-kick of his own over the bar and Danny Jones sent in a skidding cross from the right which caused all manner of mayhem after the keeper had parried it but had nobody to slam it into the net.

And then, with a minute remaining and the match well-and-truly in "next goal wins" territory, the final act from our very own Danny Whiting, somehow managing to keep a point-blank header out with an excellent reflex stop.

Onto Saturday and the visit of Oswestry Town.....

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, Fleming (Shaw), Delaney, Brocklehurst, Harrison, Ambrose, Hincks, M Sherrington, Whyatt (Jones), Clarey. SUBS: Shaw, Jones, C Sherrington, Russell, Piggott (gk)

Fundraising Night to Replace Ground Equipment

Sorely missed from Park Road

Come along on Saturday 23rd to play your part in funding a replacement....

As you may know by now, the club had a break-in a couple of weeks ago where a significant amount of ground maintenance equipment was stolen.

Running to an approximate value of £2,000 the thieves made away with a sit-on mower and other vital pieces of equipment that went with it, leaving our groundsman Phil Mottershead with absolutely no means of maintaining our pitch.

Naturally we would like to make a start in funding replacements for Phil so that he can continue to do the excellent work he does for the club.

Therefore we have decided to have a fundraising night at the clubhouse at Park Road.

Starting at 7.30pm on Saturday 23rd September there will be various raffles etc. for everybody to participate in.

Three of the prizes on offer are

• a round of golf for two people with Matt Nixon from the European Tour at Withington Golf Club
• a Barcelona shirt signed by Messi, Xavi and Van Bronckhorst
• a karaoke machine

The clubhouse bar will, of course, be open as well so come along for what should be an enjoyable evening that will try and raise as much money as possible.

The First XI will be at home to Oswestry Town that afternoon so why not make a day of it and take in the match beforehand, too?

We hope to see you there!

Cheadle Town 1-0 Abbey Hulton United

Job done...

The players warm down after their victory

Not only a first win at home but, in the face of the rather erratic start we had made, the first consecutive victories.

Again it was a result that was earned in the second half, again we had Daniel Whiting to thank for some excellent stops and again it was Rick Whyatt popping up with the goods when it mattered.

His sixth goal of the season came with just two minutes of the match remaining. By then the game was well and truly into the "one goal will win it" stage and we're glad to say that it was us who bagged it.

As the ball was lofted into a crowded penalty area substitute Robbie Robertson did a splendid job in holding it up. Steaming in with intent was Rick Whyatt to blast home Robbie's pass from close range.

In a match that could have gone either way the chances had swung to-and-fro.

Hulton made the better start and forced us into clearing danger as early as the 3rd minute and had a decent chance headed wide just two minutes later.

Our first opportunities came soon after. Danny Jones latched onto a loose header across the face of our area only to plant his shot wide with him then getting on the end of a Whyatt cross from the right only for him to shovel his effort hopelessly wide.

Danny Whiting then came to the rescue on 14 minutes as we lost possession in midfield and Hulton's no3 charged down the right, sending a teasing cross to the far post for what looked like a certain goal only for Danny to pull off another great block.

A Danny Wood wayward effort and a Jake Ambrose header straight at the keeper took us to half-time with the deadlock yet to be broken.

It was us that made the better start to the second half.

George Clarey sent in a cross from the right straight to Whyatt's feet but his effort was straight at the keeper before George had a go himself, skidding a shot in from the angle on the right which the keeper had to scramble away.

Danny Whiting made another great block from close range just before the hour with George Clarey providing for Rick Whyatt again from the right, sliding in at the near post this time only for it to go over the bar.

An awkward long-range daisy cutter which Danny Whiting managed to claw away came inbetween two Rob Brocklehurst free-kicks, the latter of which was spilled with nobody nearby to capitalise.

In the wake of Rick Whyatt's ultimate winner there was still work to do as Hulton pushed for an equaliser but we managed to keep them at bay, even having time for Robbie Robertson to charge down the field and force the keeper into a save.

A decent three points - Abbey Hulton United are a decent outfit - which takes us up to the lofty heights of 5th place.

We can turn our attentions away from league matters this weekend as we travel to Rossington Main for the FA Vase.

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, Harrison, Russell, Shaw (Delaney), Brocklehurst, Ambrose (Ratican), Wood, Jones (Robertson), Whyatt, Clarey. SUBS: Delaney, Ratican, Robertson, Piggott (gk), Marsden.

Sandbach United 1-3 Cheadle Town

Can we play away from home every week?

Maintaining our 100% start on the road and a win where we conceded first - statistically rare for us - made it a useful weekend for our First XI.

Our latest 'W' in the form column came down to two things: yet another rousing second half performance and a Mr Daniel Whiting between the sticks, who did everything he could to ensure that we didn't have the same mountain to climb as we did against Prestwich in midweek.

My Twitter notes recorded at least five occasions where he stopped what the Opta statistics bods would class as "clear goal-scoring opportunities", or something.

The pick - or should I say picks - of his custodial heroics came on 22 minutes when he blocked a far post effort at close quarters, did the same again on 35 minutes when a Sandbach player was clear through, just before half time when he palmed away an awkward effort at his near post and then on 56 minutes when he had to race out to deny another one-on-one situation.

With Mr Whiting making more than a decent fist of doing what is expected of him, the onus fell on those at the other end of the pitch to do the same.

It took them a while to get going. It wasn't until the 22nd minute that we had our first decent effort on goal; Rick Whyatt nipping in at the near post to connect with a Danny Jones cross only to see the keeper nip it off his toes.

As the first half started to draw to a close we began to find ourselves in half-decent positions, especially Jake Ambrose, but our reluctance to shoot and/or the final ball was letting us down.

A poor start to that half meant that we were going into the break a goal down.

Sandbach's ruse of direct balls to their good-in-the-air front two allied with their pacey no10 paid dividends as early as the 3rd minute.

They had already struck our crossbar before they broke quickly from our free-kick, worked the ball down the left channel before pulling it back for an easy tap-in for Pearson.

We definitely had a goal in us in this match. Fortunately after coming out for the second half we managed to bag three!

Our first breakthrough came just before the hour mark when Danny Jones slotted Rick Whyatt in for a calm finish into the far corner.

At this point it was pretty much anybody's game: end-to-end stuff but, oddly enough, nothing clear-cut for either team.

And then came one of those "sliding doors" moments around the 72 minute mark.

Coming out to collect a lofted ball Danny Whiting's heart must have been in his mouth as he was met by the sight of Joe Shaw coming towards him and heading the ball past him. Both could now do absolutely nothing about the ball's final resting place. Thankfully for us, it was wide of the post.

A minute later Sandbach clipped our crossbar from where we went up the other end and got ourselves a corner...

...which was struck in, daisy-cutter style, from the left to Joe Shaw at the near post whose attempt to flick it in managed to distract everybody enough to allow Rick Whyatt the easiest of goals from a yard out.

Rick Whyatt (centre) lies in wait....

Hugs all round!

Sandbach, perhaps having run out of gas, luck or just tacit admission that whatever they did was going to be foiled by Whiting, didn't feature for the remainder of the match.

Joe Shaw powered a Wood free-kick just over the bar before we extended our lead with eight minutes of the match remaining.

Not for the first time Jake Ambrose found himself in a good position on the right where his effort was blocked. The loose ball found the feet of Danny Wood in the area who, with Sandbach bodies in his way, was patient enough to pick his spot and plant home.

Back to Park Road we go this Wednesday where we seek that (thus far) elusive home win against NWCFL newcomers Abbey Hulton United.

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, Fleming, Russell, Shaw, Brocklehurst (Delaney), Ambrose, Wood, Jones, Whyatt, C Sherrington (Clarey). SUBS: Clarey, Hincks, Delaney, Allcock (gk)

Cheadle Town 2-4 Prestwich Heys

In short, a spirited second half performance that didn't do enough to repair the damage that was done in the first.

0-3 to Prestwich Heys in the first half, 2-1 to us in the second. If you want to look at it that way.

For the latter 45 minutes we had much more of a "presence", getting our foot on the ball - and our bodies in the way - a lot more.

Just three minutes into the restart Jake Ambrose had whipped a teasing cross in from the right that unfortunately nobody was around to benefit from.

Just six minutes later and we reduced the deficit with a well-worked goal by George Clarey, cutting inside from the left channel and maintaining his run square until he found the right moment to pop the ball under the Heys keeper's body.

Jake had been inches away from putting Danny Wood through just after the hour mark before disaster struck on the 66th minute, proving just how much of a chasm there is between a scoreline of 2-3 and 1-4; Heys' tricky no11 (Rio Wilson-Heyes) had sent in a cross from the left with the initial effort blocked by Whiting only for the rebound to be slammed home by Dominic Slaven.

Despite the disappointment we kept going.

Some incredible footwork from Jake Ambrose got him within range of the goal but his effort was hacked off the line with a Rob Brocklehurst free-kick being clipped square across the face of goal by Rick Whyatt that was desperate for somebody to nod it home from a yard out!

We got further reward with ten minutes to go when James Dunn reduced arrears once more with a well-placed header from a corner before the towering presence of substitute Danny Jones almost gave Heys a fretful ending: latching onto a flick-through he saw the keeper slightly off his line and went for the lob...only to see it creep inches wide.

As alluded to earlier, the mountain to climb as we came out for that second half was too much as Prestwich had raced into a three-goal lead.

As early as the 6th minute Malachi Slaven's drive from the left had taken a nasty bump off one of our defenders and sailed over Whiting's head with Lee Bruce netting the second on 18 minutes, latching onto a header from Jamie Baguley before advancing on goal and flicking the ball past Whiting.

Up until that point it had been Prestwich all the way in terms of possession and chances but we then started to show some signs of life with our best opportunity falling to George Clarey who just couldn't dig the ball out from under his feet after a Luke Hincks cross had put him in a great position to shoot.

Prestwich benefited from another deflection just before half-time for their third goal, with Lee Bruce offered the simplest of tap-ins after an initial shot from the left had cannoned off the heels of one of our back line.

There was still time for Heys to hit the post from a corner at the end of that most damaging of opening 45 minutes for us.

Five matches in, a varied start to say the least but plenty of positives to draw upon, not least the way in which we battled back hard in the second half of this particular encounter.

Onto Sandbach this Saturday....

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, Ratican, Wood (Russell), Shaw (Delaney), Brocklehurst, Ambrose (Jones), Hincks, Clarey, Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Russell, Piggott (gk), Jones, Delaney.

Oswestry Town 2-3 Cheadle Town

Phew.

Three points, yes, but fingernails well-and-truly chewed down to the quick as we willfully allowed our hosts a foothold.

For 65 minutes we were well in control and good value for our 3-0 lead, but as soon as Rick Whyatt had scored that third we had stopped doing the stuff that had served us so well and got us into this position in the first place.

A bright opening by us saw Chris Sherrington test the keeper early on and put a free-kick just over.

On the 12th minute we should have opened our account. Great running by Mike Sherrington down the right saw him slot Rick Whyatt in on goal but to no avail.

Two minutes later Rick made amends, albeit with some fortune; picking the ball up on the edge of the area he went for power, with the shot taking a wicked deflection off an Oswestry defender, wrong-footing the keeper and spinning into the opposite corner of the net.

On 21 minutes Danny Whiting was called into action as he did well to palm away a well-struck long-range effort before we went straight down the other end and extended our lead.

It was the Mike Sherrington/Rick Whyatt combination working again, with Rick feeding Mike in down the right this time for a cool finish into the far corner.

Oswestry had evidently received the proverbial rocket up their rear ends at half-time as they came out with purpose in the second half and were arguably the better side for the final 45 minutes.

Their first chance came six minutes in when a cross in from the left found their player in space in the area, only for him to lash it over the bar.

Danny Whiting was forced into another good stop just after the hour mark before sending the ball down the other end where we would extend our lead even further.

On the edge of the box once more, Rick Whyatt turned inside and out before unleashing a left-footer that didn't need any deflection to help it on its way this time.

And that should have been that. Feet up. Game won.

But no. Two minutes later a poor header out of our defence fell straight to Oswestry's Farleigh who belted home from the edge of the area.

We simply couldn't keep hold of the ball from this point onwards and found ourselves having to fend off repeated waves of Oswestry attack, with Danny Whiting on-hand to rescue us again on 79 minutes with a good stop.

We crafted ourselves a chance to wrap it up once and for all with two minutes to go when George Clarey was through on goal but a moment of hesitancy meant the opportunity was gone.

In the blink of an eye the ball was sent up the other end where Tinsley's turn-and-shot from close range at the near post ensured a very nervous finish and one that would have been even more disastrous for us had Danny Whiting not come out bravely to clear a dangerous cross deep into stoppage time.

Onwards we go and thick-and-fast the fixtures come. A strong-looking Prestwich Heys are the next to visit Park Road this Wednesday evening....

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, Fleming, Wood (Russell), Brocklehurst, Shaw, Ambrose (Clarey), Hincks, M Sherrington, Whyatt (Delaney), C Sherrington. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Clarey, Delaney, Russell.

Cheadle Town 0-0 Daisy Hill

How do you trudge away from a football ground twice with the same feeling of disappointment despite witnessing two different results?

Wednesday evening vs Alsager: a defeat that should have been a draw.

Saturday vs Daisy Hill: a draw that should have been a victory.

Only ourselves to blame. A host of more-than-decent chances were squandered in the first half that should have seen us retiring to our collective teas and sandwiches at the break in a comfortable position.

Just 40 seconds had passed before Chris Sherrington found himself with the loose ball at his feet on the left and with clear sight of goal, only for him to drill just wide.

He had another pop on 10 minutes, stinging the palms of the keeper before his brother Mike flashed a decent effort over the bar just five minutes later.

On 23 minutes we thought we had gone head. Rob Brocklehurst's free-kick from the right caused all manner of angst in the Daisy Hill defence with a close-range effort somehow being hacked off the line.

Two minutes later George Clarey went clean through on the right. A square and unmarked Mike Sherrington looked to be the best option but George went for the shot which unfortunately whistled wide of the mark.

Just before the half-hour mark Rob Brocklehurst went just wide with a free-kick before George Clarey went on a mazy run, cutting inside from the left to force a decent save from the keeper.

Mike Sherrington did the same a minute later but shot over with an exact reversal of the Sherrington-Clarey situation occuring on 40 minutes; this time Mike squared for George who looked set to score but the keeper was able to smother the danger.

To be fair Daisy Hill also had their chances in the first half; they just weren't as plentiful.

Ryan Allcock did well to palm away an awkwardly-bouncing long-range effort on the 8th minute, gathered a curling effort on the quarter-hour but then was motionless as a hooked shot from a corner beat him just before half time. Thankfully it bounced harmlessly off the post.

The second half saw a lot less in terms of decent chances from either side.

Ryan Allcock prevented the Daisy no10 with a decent block when he was through on goal. His opposite number then produced a good reflex save to beat away a deflection from a free-kick before George Clarey saw himself through on the right as stoppage time was upon us but was beaten by a last-ditch tackle.

There was time for a heart-in-mouth moment as Daisy could have snatched all three points but their substitute's air-shot from about two yards out ensured a share of the spoils.

Still early days yet and no grounds for any concern but the OPTA statistics bods would have had a field day with our chance-conversion percentage rate, or whatever it is they calculate.

At least we are creating the chances but there might just come the odd game here and there where those opportunities are going to be at a premium. It's never too early to develop a clinical streak.

Onwards to Oswestry this Saturday.

TEAM: Allcock, Dunn, Harrison, Russell (Delaney), Brocklehurst, Shaw, Clarey, Wood (Hincks), M Sherrington, Whyatt, C Sherrington (Christopher). SUBS: Christopher, Delaney, Hincks, Piggott (gk)

Cheadle Town 1-2 Alsager Town

The bitterest of pills to swallow.

With just two minutes to go Alsager's Remeece Brown took off on a gallop towards our goal, twisted this way and that before opening his body up and placing a well-taken effort past Ryan Allcock.

Such a shame and all as we had done everything to haul ourselves back into the match in the second half - after a rather indifferent first - and can probably count ourselves a tad unlucky not to come away with at least a point.

That first half.

From a Cheadle point of view probably the less said about it the better. With only an early Rick Whyatt effort and a Rob Brocklehurst free-kick - both of which were straight at the keeper - to speak of we really didn't get going and offered little in terms of troubling the Alsager keeper.

Down the other end the first real significant effort on goal after a turgid 19 minutes saw Alsager go ahead thanks to a Joshua Glover looping header from a left-wing cross and Ryan Allcock doing very well to tip away a curling effort on 35 minutes.

He made one more decent stop early in the second half before the introduction of Luke Hincks gave us a bit more bite on the pitch.

This paid dividends on 69 minutes. James Dunn's run down the right into the box resulted in him shovelling the ball into the area for Mike Sherrington to finally - after a bit of persistence - prod home for a deserved leveller.

Mike was then through again on 76 minutes but the pace of the ball - and the keeper - thwarted him with George Clarey then through in a similar situation on 80 minutes with the keeper being equal to matters once more.

Neither team were settling for a draw, so who would win it? Unfortunately for us Alsager won that particular toss of the coin.

A cheerless result but still plenty of promise. Again, as it was in Atherton over the weekend, patience played a part. We stuck to our guns re our manner and style of play against a robust Alsager outfit and it (almost) paid off.

Two matches in. No major concerns as yet. Can't complain.

TEAM: Allcock, Dunn, Fleming, Brocklehurst (Delaney), Harrison, Shaw, Ambrose, Wood (Hincks), C Sherrington (Clarey), Whyatt, M Sherrington. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Hincks, Clarey, Delaney.

Atherton LR 1-2 Cheadle Town

If only we could start seasons every week.

I make no apologies for the oxymoron; we haven't lost our opening competitive fixture for the past ten seasons now.

The casual observer might have put sound money on that run being ended at Atherton LR today. Us with the spine of last season's squad now elsewhere and going into this match with LR - themselves boasting a whole new raft of players - on the back of a mixed bag of results in pre-season.

But hey, we won.

What we may have lacked in pace, height and chance-to-goal conversion today we made up for in spades with patience, measurement and organisation.

The match was evenly-balanced with very little to write home about for the first 26 minutes until the two Sherringtons fashioned the first clear-cut chance; Chris' run to the edge of the box seeing his effort blocked with the loose ball running to an unmanned Mike who blazed over with the goal almost at his mercy.

Chris was instrumental in opening our account just six minutes later.

His cross from wide out on the left was gathered by Rick Whyatt in the box who had time to adjust his feet and plant home into the corner of the net.

Mike Sherrington then really should have made it 2-0 seven minutes later. He was put in on goal and had rounded the keeper successfully but somehow took too long to decide what to do thus allowing the LR defence to smuggle away the danger.

The disappointment didn't last long.

From the resulting corner Aaron Fleming rose at the near post to power in an unstoppable header.

And then it should have been 3-0 shortly before half-time.

Rick Whyatt found himself all alone in the area with the ball at his feet after everybody else had stopped, waiting for an offside flag that never came. Perhaps he had to much time to think as his effort was skied harmlessly.

LR applied more pressure in the second half but they were gifted their foothold back into the game on 58 minutes.

Ryan Allcock placed a clearance straight to the feet of an LR forward who then had the simple task of squaring it for Kidd for an easy tap-in.

Straight after that Ben Christopher almost restored our two-goal advantage but the LR keeper made a wonderful fingertip save over the bar.

Substitutes came and went for both sides as they both went for the all-important next goal with us having two more gilt-edged chances to wrap it up; both George Clarey and Ben Christopher were clean through on goal only to be thwarted by some excellent keeping.

Creases to iron out but the perfect start. Onwards to our next task: the visit of Alsager Town this Wednesday evening.

TEAM: Allcock, Dunn, Fleming, Brocklehurst (Delaney), Harrison, Shaw, Christopher (Caldecott), Wood, M Sherrington (Clarey), Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Piggott (gk), Clarey, Delaney, Caldecott.

Prize Draw - Results & Important Information

A lot of you will have been aware of our Prize Draw that has taken place quarterly where tickets have been sold door-to-door throughout the Stockport area.

At this point last year we did mention the fact that we were looking to phase this draw out; we are now at that point.

The results from what is the final draw are as follows:

First Prize (£1000)
Ticket no: 01964
I Johnson, Bredbury

Second Prize (£500)
Ticket no: 02487
D Massey, Offerton

Third Prize (£250)
Ticket no: 01321
I Wild, High Lane

However, from this point onwards ANY tickets sold door-to-door bearing the name of Cheadle Town Football Club are no longer valid as the club is no longer participating in this particular Prize Draw.

Many, many thanks to those of you who have supported the club via the draw over so many years and congratulations to those who were lucky enough to have paid for a winning ticket!

We are looking at alternative and more modern ways of raising funds for the club. Please watch this space for future developments.

Poynton 2-1 Cheadle Town

It's fair to say that pre-season has been a bit of a mixed bag.

Creditable draws against Glossop North End and Congleton, an even more creditable win over West Didsbury & Chorlton and two defeats against so-called lesser opposition, the 2-3 reversal at Tintwistle Athletic and this loss at Poynton.

Take nothing away from Poynton, though. They came second in the Cheshire League last season and were every bit the robust and difficult opposition we expected.

It took us a while to get going and it wasn't until the 18th minute when Luke Hincks saw a free-kick touched onto the crossbar.

By then we were a goal down, though, after Josh Harrison unluckily trod on the ball around 25 yards out with the lurking Poynton forward seeing Ryan Allcock off his line and delivering a well-measured chip.

Good work by Tom Ratican just before the half-hour mark was almost rewarded when Luke Hincks latched onto his pull-back but the Poynton keeper was equal to it.

Ryan Allcock then made two excellent stops before half-time to ensure that the score was kept at 1-0 to Poynton.

The hosts started the second half the better, rattling the underside of the crossbar and forcing Allcock into another good stop within the first five minutes before they extended their lead on the hour, slamming home at the far post after the ball had been hooked back across the face of goal.

Poynton squandered two decent chances to make it 3-0 before substitute Mike Sherrington started to make an impact and gave us some added impetus up front.

His run and cross from the right on 66 minutes almost saw Tom Ratican connect for what would have been a certain goal before fellow substitute Rick Whyatt powered through on goal just moments later to bury and get us back into the game.

Mike Sherrington then planted an unmarked header straight into the keepers hands thus blowing a great opportunity to draw us level before our final foray on goal saw Joe Shaw latch onto a free kick, see his effort blocked before the loose ball was skied on its way to Woodford by Dean Nolan.

By then Steve Piggott had come on to replace Ryan Allcock in goal and there was time for him to shine, spectacularly tipping a fierce volley over the bar which would prove to be the final action of the match.

It all starts for real in a couple of weeks' time when we travel to Atherton LR but by then the creases will hopefully have been ironed out.

STARTING XI: Allcock, Ratican, Brocklehurst, Russell, Harrison, Shaw, Hincks, Wood, Nolan, Christopher, C Sherrington. SUBS: Piggott, Ambrose, M Sherrington, Whyatt.

Cheadle Town 2-0 West Didsbury & Chorlton

Another good run-out. Another step towards the exorcism of ring-rustiness.

A well-balanced first half saw only a handful of chances.

Danny Wood was the first to show when his rasping drive forced a good save from the West' keeper on 22 minutes.

Ten minutes later and perhaps we should have gone in front but the keeper was equal to Rick Whyatt's effort after he had capitalised on some hesitant defending.

Ryan Allcock was called into action just two minutes later, pushing a long-ranger from Matty Kay around the post.

The second half was a bit more productive where chances were concerned.

West's no11 was through on the left on 53 minutes but could only clip his effort wide with Mike Sherrington then being inches away from connecting to a gorgeous cross from Aaron Fleming.

Back down the other end Allcock was on-hand again to deny West', this time stopping Tom Bailey with a fine block with West' then dominating the possession for quite a while.

During this period they saw a header crash back off the underside of the crossbar and forced us into some rather hasty defensive work in the area as all manner of limbs were trying to scramble the ball away on 76 minutes.

But then the tide suddenly swung back in our favour.

Rick Whyatt was through one-on-one again on 78 minutes but saw his effort blocked before Mike Sherrington found himself in a similar position on the left two minutes later; his shot was also blocked with the loose ball falling to the feet of George Clary who unfortunately mis-kicked and the chance was gone.

Enter the head of substitute Luke Cotton.

On 83 minutes it guided a whipped ball from Mike Sherrington into the corner of the net - with Luke somehow arcing his body shape to connect with a ball that was effectively behind him - and sixty seconds later it rose majestically to nod over the advancing keeper for Cheadle's second.

Just one more pre-season run-out before the real business starts and plenty for the management team to think about re selection for the starting XI on 12th August at Atherton LR.

STARTING XI: Allcock, O'Donnell, Fleming, Russell, Harrison, Shaw, Ambrose, Wood, M Sherrington, Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS (used on a rolling basis): Ratican, Brocklehurst, Christopher, Clary, Dunn, Hincks, Rigby (gk)