Barnton 0-4 Cheadle Town

There can't be many right-backs that can claim to have scored four goals in one game. Step forward Joseph Neild ('e' before the 'i', remember), our leading scorer with five goals, showing our regular strikeforce a clean pair of heels.

If you want to be uncharitable - and there was some evidence of this on social media from those with Barnton bias after the match - then you can pick on the fact that Joe's four-goal haul consisted of a "did he really mean that?" cross-shot and three penalties...and the fact that Barnton were down to nine men by the time the final whistle went.

From a Cheadle perspective it was a well-placed chip that perhaps the keeper shouldn't have misjudged and three well-taken penalties - all arrowed into exactly the same spot in the net - after our front line had got themselves into good positions in the box only to be clumsily upended. If you don't want to give away penalties then don't give away fouls in the penalty area.

Hands up if you scored four goals

This match took a while to get going.

With only a Tom Ratican burst down the left channel (shot blocked) in the opening exchanges to speak of after 21 minutes the match suddenly came to life.

Remeece Brown fizzed a dangerous ball in from the left which was cleared as far as Ruben Abreu, only for him to launch his effort wide.

Barnton then converted from close-range two minutes later only for it to be flagged for offside with an Abreu corner met by the head of Liam Delaney that bounced harmlessly over.

Rhys Clooney's strength and pace allowed him to get two rasping shots in, the second of which brought out the best of the two saves from the Barnton keeper, before Joe Neild got his first of the evening on 35 minutes.

Joe's first penalty on 58 minutes was key, giving us a vital two-goal cushion. Five minutes previous Barnton should have been level as a bounce deceived our back line allowing their forward to rush through on goal.

Fortunately he sent his shot high with the hosts then reduced to ten men two minutes later after Richards picked up a second yellow card.

Ruben Abreu making the challenge

Tom Russell's audacious-but-wide lob on 68 minutes heralded another key moment in the match. Two minutes later Barnton were reduced to nine men when Houghton collected his second yellow with Joe Neild then netting his second penalty of the night - and our third goal - on 73 minutes.

Three goals and two players better off, it was exhibition stuff from us thereafter; possession football with well-timed forays into the Barnton box.

One of those forays resulted in Tom Russell poking just wide after Callum Knight had rolled a delicious ball across for him with another resulting in our third penalty of the evening after Ben Christopher was sent tumbling.

And so onto a busy weekend. Rylands away this Saturday and then Eccleshall at home on Bank Holiday Monday....

TEAM: Morrison, Neild, Ratican, Russell, Dunn, Delaney, Abreu (Knight), Hincks, Clooney (Webb), Whyatt, Brown (Christopher). SUBS: Webb, Knight, Christopher, Whiting (gk).

Cheadle Town 2-0 Wythenshawe Amateurs

If Wythenshawe Amateurs had done their research then they would have known not to have bothered turning up before a ball had been kicked; we haven't lost our opening competitive match since the 2007-08 season (a defeat at Padiham, if you're asking).

That run continued - albeit after a decent test - thanks to two late goals, one from substitute Rhys Clooney and a twice-taken penalty from Joe Neild ('e' before the 'i' - I have been misspelling his name for the past couple of years!).

The teams emerge; Remeece Brown definitely 'in the zone'

A cagey opening ten minutes was broken by the first shot in anger from Rhys Webb who belted one from range to test the Ams' keeper.

Moments later the Ams' no11 tried the same before Rubemn Abreu was sent scampering through down the left, only to be denied by a good stop. Ruben took the resulting corner which was met by the head of Liam Delaney at the far post but to no avail.

Danny Whiting was kept busy, palming away some long-range efforts before we ended the half with two decent chances: Rhys Webb twisting and turning in the box to then punt his effort off the foot of the post before Remeece Brown's tricks got him into good space down the right only for him to shoot over.

A drinks break midway through the first-half (yes, it was that warm!) gives Antony Trucca the chance to get his point across

Rick Whyatt and Remeece had half-chances right at the start of the second half but were thwarted by good defending and bad luck respectively before Liam Delaney headed over another one of Ruben's corners from a good position.

With ten minutes remaining a handful of substitutions had seen Rhys Clooney enter the field and he had already collected a flick-on and fired over before he engineered our breakthrough with only four minutes remaining.

Ruben Abreu had made good progress down the left before checking back and poking the ball square for Rhys who, in one swift movement, turned and angled his drive into the far corner.

Somewhere in the middle of that huddle is Rhys Clooney

With our tails up, we were awarded a penalty in stoppage time when Rhys Webb's weaving and turning in the area drew a foul. Joe Neild had buried the initial kick before he was ordered to take it again, opting for the same side of the goal with his second attempt and thankfully with the same outcome.

All smiles at the final whistle

An interesting contest against one of the many newcomers to this league. A more familiar face in the form of New Mills AFC comes to Park Road tonight for our next home match....

TEAM: Whiting, Neild, Ratican, Russell (Wood), Delaney, Harrison, Brown (Knight), Hincks, Webb, Whyatt (Clooney), Abreu. SUBS: Wood, Allcock (gk), Shaw, Knight, Clooney.

Pre-Season Finale: Cheadle Town 0-2 West Auckland Town...and a Lot More Than That

New kit, new facilities, a new era. Our pre-season finale at Park Road was all about heralding those three things.

Bar a squally opening 10-15 minutes of the match itself the weather held off and the hundreds that turned up to support their local club enjoyed all of the activities on offer, made good use of the new catering facilities and also enjoyed 90 minutes of entertaining football.

The new facilities have been made possible thanks to the Buildbase bursary that we won back in May.

Our new Town Cafe - situated between the clubhouse and the Main Stand - opened for business, complete with a new menu on offer and al fresco seating.

Our new Town Cafe

A wider range of hot food, snacks and drinks are now available at Park Road

For those who prefer to be indoors, our clubhouse has also been refurbished; new furniture and carpet with a wide range of cold drinks and snacks on offer.

Part of our new-look clubhouse

The players have also benefited from the makeover. They were greeted with a new-look changing room incorporating new showers.

Our new-look home changing room.

We also launched our new kit before the match. The players coming out to the pitch in the new red-and-white striped home strip.

All shiny and brand new colours for the club

As for the match itself we came up against a very strong and talented West Auckland Town side who ran out 2-0 winners on the day.

It didn't really get going until the approach of the half-hour mark. Auckland had a shot cleared off the line before an excellent save by Danny Whiting sadly went unrewarded and the loose ball was headed back into the net.

Our first decent chance came early in the second half as Rick Whyatt twisted and turned in the box only to have his shot saved before West Auckland had another handful of decent chances, forcing Ryan Allcock into a decent stop and then smashing a header onto the crossbar.

Ben Christopher's two teasing crosses went unattended before the match ended with a bit of a mixup in our defence, allowing a free shot on goal from the edge of the box to give our visitors an unreachable 2-0 lead.

Many thanks to West Auckland FC for making the trip down from the North East for our pre-season finale. Thanks also to the hundreds that turned up to take it all in and Matchday Supplies for providing us with goodie bags for the squad.

There's lots more pictures of the day in the gallery below....

Pre-Season Finale at Park Road

The eagle-eyed among you won't have failed to notice that there have been a few changes of late.

Most noticeable has been the change in club crest. It incorporates elements of the old crest, namely the bull's head and also the two golden diamonds, representing the two golden wheatsheafs (a symbol of Cheshire).

We recently published a short video on all of our social media channels....

At the end of that video you'll notice a reference to the 28th July. This relates to the special pre-season finale that we are holding at Park Road that afternoon.

Full details can be seen on the graphics below.

Yes, you read that right...free admission for all and plenty going on so why don't you come down to Park Road on the 28th for what should be a great afternoon heralding the first day of an exciting new future for your local football club.

Daten 2-5 Cheadle Town

First of all, apologies for not covering our previous two pre-season victories. We have denied you the feel-good factor of reading about a win over Premier Division opposition and a demolition of a Wearside League outfit. We feel guilty.

But let's put that right by telling you about this 5-2 win over last season's Cheshire League 1 champions Daten.

Chris Sherrington: a smile is never far away

Owed more to a second-half performance that was head and shoulders above that of the first, this win was another precious workout ahead of the start of the serious stuff in August.

Our first shot on target came on 9 minutes and it resulted in us taking the lead; Chris Sherrington's free-kick on the edge of the area taking the slightest nick off the wall, enough to deceive the keeper.

The lead didn't last long. A mis-placed pass in a dangerous area two minutes later found a Daten forward and he simply lobbed a stranded Ryan Allcock for the equaliser.

Then we lost our way a bit. Granted that Jake Ambrose had two decent efforts, one of which he really should have buried, but we were too deliberate, too ponderous in our play and susceptible to being caught in the final third.

The coaching staff providing watching eyes

On 21 minutes the hosts took the lead. A long ball down the right found their no8 who finished smartly to Ryan Allcock's right before yet another careless pass across our goalmouth found a Daten forward free on the right only for him to screw his effort wide. A let off.

The last knockings of the first half showed some glimpses of what was to come in the second.

Tom Ratican was instrumental in the two chances we had, first seeing a fierce drive parried wide and then seeing his cut-back to Liam Delaney tipped over the bar.

Straight from the restart we were on top.

Ruben Abreu worked hard to get himself in down the left only to see his effort saved at the near post with our deserved equaliser then coming in the most bizarre of circumstances.

Jake Ambrose with plenty of Daten company

Having made a handful of excellent saves in the first half, the Daten keeper then made a most horrendous slip on the edge of his own area, allowing Jake Ambrose to steal in and walk the ball home from close range.

A superb combination between Knight, Clooney and Ratican resulted in the latter firing just over before Clooney himself had a chance, heading over from close range.

We were then awarded a penalty just after the hour mark which Joe Nield had to retake, Clooney then poked a loose ball just wide moments later before Joe then supplied a teasing cross from the right for Liam Delaney to thunder home with his head on 67 minutes.

With five minutes to go Reece Clooney then got his just rewards for his efforts, finishing coolly when put clean through on goal.

Plenty to be positive about. Onwards to the next run-out....

STARTING XI: Allcock, Nield, C Sherrington, Delaney, Dunn, Harrison, Abreu, Wood, Ambrose, Whyatt, Ratican. SUBS: Russell, Clooney, Knight, Tom Jones.

NWCFL AGM Round-Up

Last Saturday saw the NWCFL 2018 AGM take place at the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool.

As ever, the event marks the official end of the 2017-18 season and the start of the 2018-19 one.

A lot of new clubs attending meant a lot more chairs at the front-of-house this year

During the main part of the meeting Runcorn Linnets and Widnes - both promoted from the Premier Division - made their goodbye speeches with representatives from the new clubs then entering the room to say their hellos.

Once the official part of the meeting had concluded the draws for the two "domestic" cup competitions - the Macron League Cup and the First Division Trophy - were made.

MACRON LEAGUE CUP
In the First Round of the League Cup we will travel to First Division North side St Helens Town on Saturday 20th October.

The winners of that tie will then host either Bootle or Vauxhall Motors in the Second Round on Saturday 10th November.

FIRST DIVISION TROPHY
In the First Round of the First Division Trophy we will travel to Atherton LR on Saturday 8th September.

The winners of that tie will travel to Sandbach United or New Mills in the Second Round on Saturday 6th October.

As we have said before, the AGM is always a good opportunity to catch up with familiar faces and chew the fat over footballing matters.

None more so this year than Alan Harrison (pictured above with committee member Karl Florczak) from AFC Liverpool. After a torrid time with illness of late it was great to see that he was fit enough to travel to the AGM...and also fit enough to get up to the front of the AGM delegates and express his gratitude at the amount of good wishes he has been receiving.

After killing a few hours around Blackpool - thankfully the early morning rain had eased - it was time for the presentation dinner in the evening.

Sampling the best of what Blackpool has to offer....

After a splendid dinner in the excellent company of fellow representatives from Sandbach United and Barnoldswick Town, it was time for the presentations themselves.

The room where the initial meeting was held was suitably bedecked in time for the evening dinner

All those teams and players that had earned accolades throughout the season were formally presented with their awards; congratulations to all of those that were able to walk away from the AGM with something to take home. Hopefully it will be us one day.

The AGM is a long day - we had an 8.00am start from Manchester and didn't return home until 12.30am - but it is always an enjoyable one. Many thanks to the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool for their hospitality.

New Management Team Structure for 2018-19

Ahead of the forthcoming 2018-19 season we would like to announce a change in the management team structure.

FIRST XI

Anthony Trucca and Chris Seaton will retain their roles as Manager and Assistant Manager respectively but will now be joined by ex-Reserves squad manager Chris Woods who will join the management team.

Steve Piggott will continue as First XI Goalkeeping Coach.

RESERVES

Dave McGreal

David McGreal will step up to the post of Reserves Team Manager to fill the gap vacated by Chris Woods.

He will be joined by the two faces that steered our U21 squad last season: Gary Bilingham and Matt Bradburn. Gary will act as Assistant Manager for the Reserves and Matt will act as Coach.

DEVELOPMENT SQUAD (U21s)

With Mssrs Bradburn and Billingham moving to the Reserves set-up, this means we have had to "start afresh" with our managerial and coaching staff for the Development Squad.

Step forward Paul Jones and Leo Kirk.

Paul will be Manager with Leo as his Assistant Manager.

Both come to us from Wythenshawe Town having previously been on the managerial roster for Witton Albion Reserves and thus bring a heap of semi-professional experience to Cheadle Town's youth set up.

In addition we would also like to welcome Dave Lynch to the Development Squad team who will be acting as Secretary.

Division One Regionalised for 2018-19

At this point we usually have a quick look at the new teams we will be playing next season, be it through relegation from the Premier Division or promotion from one of the Step 7/Level 11 leagues.

For next season the outlook will be vastly different.

NWCFL Division One will be split into two separate divisions next season, North and South, with each containing 20 teams.

The very approximate "cut off" line between North and South was reportedly the M62 motorway; if your geography is up-to-speed then you should have worked out that we have been placed in the South division.

A very approximate guide to the geographical division
Map data copyright Google 2018

The other 19 teams in our South division are made up of familiar faces (that were in Division One with us last season), those relegated from the Premier Division at the end of last season and those promoted from Step 7/Level 11 leagues.

FAMILIAR FACES (that need no introduction)

Abbey Hulton United
Alsager Town
Cammell Laird 1907
Eccleshall
Oswestry Town
New Mills
Sandbach United
Stockport Town

RELEGATED FROM THE PREMIER DIVISION

Barnton
our play-off nemesis from the end of the 2015-16 season

Maine Road
their relegation brings to an end their fourteen-year run in the NWCFL's top-flight; based in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester

PROMOTED FROM STEP 7/LEVEL 11 LEAGUES

Ellesmere Rangers
from the West Midlands Regional League; not based in Ellesmere Port but Ellesmere in Shropshire (it's on the way to Oswestry)

Cheadle Heath Nomads
from the Cheshire League; based just down the road from us in Cheadle Heath, which means we have a proper Cheadle derby to contest next season!

Rylands
from the Cheshire League; based in Warrington

St Martins
from the West Midlands Regional League; based in Oswestry and play at the same stadium as Oswestry Town

Stone Dominoes
from the Staffordshire County League; old friends from NWCFL Division One seasons gone by, it's great to see them back at this level

Stone Old Alleynians
from the West Midlands Regional League; based at the same complex as Stone Dominoes

Vauxhall Motors
from the West Cheshire League; a very famous name in non-league, based in Ellesmere Port

Wythenshawe Amateurs
from the Manchester League; for those of you that know Manchester, based on the border of Sharston and Gatley

Wythenshawe Town
from the Cheshire League; based in Baguley, Manchester

Other Important Stuff to Note

• In terms of the North teams we still may be travelling to our old friends at Daisy Hill, Chadderton et al or new faces such as Garstang or Cleator Moor Celtic as the NWCFL cup competitions will not be regionalised from the get-go.
• Disappointingly there will be no promotion play-offs for Division One after the FA announced that there will be new promotion and relegation methods brought in.
• From next season only the champions from both North and South divisions will be guaranteed promotion. Two second-placed clubs may be promoted but this will be decided on a points-per-game ratio with all of the other runners-up across the Step 6 leagues.

All of the above will be ratified at the League AGM in Blackpool in a couple of weeks' time. Watch this space for further announcements.

2017-2018 Player Presentation Evening

UNDER 21s

Manager's Player of the Year
James Connolly

Players' Player of the Year
Harry Fairhurst

RESERVES

Manager's Player of the Year
Kieran Alley

Players' Player of the Year
Kieran Alley

FIRST XI

Manager's Player of the Year
Richard Whyatt

Players' Player of the Year
Richard Whyatt

SPECIAL LONG SERVICE AWARD
Steve Piggott

2017-2018 Season Review: In Words

It's taken a while to make a start with this "wordy" version of the season review. Drafts have been written, scrapped and then started afresh. More than once.

The simple reason for this is that I've had difficulty in knowing where to start.

Off the pitch? On the pitch? Pre-30th December 2017 vs Post-December 30th 2017? The first third of the season? The middle bit? Or the last third? Or all of it in one great big lump?

Probably best if I just give you the segments yourself and you try and glue them together in whichever way you see fit. Here goes....

30th December 2017: Before and After

Off the pitch this is a landmark season.

On Saturday 30th December 2017 a new deal was signed which meant that the club became part of the Little Sports Group owned by ex-Cheadle Town player Craig Brennan.

Craig Brennan (far left) with members of the committee after signing the deal on 30th December

We stated at the time that the long-term benefits for the club would be manyfold but, even in the short space of five months, the change has been manifest.

Multiple "quick wins" such as sprucing up the clubhouse and streamlining many of the matchday operational aspects has gone a long way to raising the morale of everybody involved, morale that was in tatters following the trainwreck left by the mistakes made surrounding the ill-fated China trip last year.

The first indication that the long-term benefits would start to appear came last month when we heard that we were one of the two non-league clubs that had been awarded a £50,000 Buildbase Renevation bursary. We had been shortlisted for it last year but this time around we were better-prepared and our presentation to the Buildbase and FA bods at Wembley Stadium paid dividends.

Craig Brennan (centre) with committee members Stuart Crawford and Brian Lindon during the presentation day at Wembley Stadium.

We will start to see the benefits of that award very soon. Watch this space.

We're a different club now. I would have put my mortgage on me having to write the club's obituary in another five years' time if things hadn't have changed. It couldn't carry on they way they were and we had to change and adapt to survive.

Exciting times ahead.

The Same, But Different

2016-17 saw us finish in 12th position; 2017-18 has also seen us finish in 12th position.

Progress? Depends how you look at it.

We lost some very experienced players last summer and, going into the first competitive league match of the season, the profile of the starting XI was much younger than 12 months previous.

Amongst those that moved on elsewhere was Rhys Webb who netted 26 goals. Was there a viable replacement that could get anywhere near that total for 2017-18?

Step forward Rick Whyatt, opening the scoring at Atherton LR on the opening day of the season and managing to net on 26 occasions by the time the final match had ended. As mentioned on the statistical review of the season his goals were worth an extra 24 points to us, which would have meant a bottom-of-the-table finish.

Sir Richard Whyatt

Given the younger and hence less-experienced squad profile this season you might have been forgiven for thinking that we wouldn't fair as well in terms of league position but Anthony Trucca and his coaching staff have done a tremendous job in guiding us to that 12th spot.

So therefore you could argue that this season's 12th is a slightly better achievement than last season's 12th. Feel free to discuss otherwise in the Comments section below.

The Archetypal Mixed Bag

If you look at the win-draw-lose pattern for the whole season you will be met with a hellscape of inconsistency.

A fairly decent start over the first seven matches - including a decent 3-1 win at Sandbach United - followed by no win in five capped by a frustrating 0-2 defeat at home to ultimately hapless Nelson.

Another half-decent spell then followed, seeing us progress in the First Division Cup and League Cup, snatch a 2-2 draw on a feisty evening at Stockport Town and comfortably beat Cammell Laird 3-0 at home at the turn of the year.

Another bad spell followed, brightened only by a 4-1 battering of Alsager Town on their own turf which was only one of two wins in fifteen matches. The 0-5 defeat at home to Litherland REMYCA in the sapping mud of Park Road was a particular low point, as was an utterly depressing 1-2 defeat at home to Stockport Town who scored with their only two shots on goal all evening.

Bacup Borough 1-5 Cheadle Town: one of the highlights of the season

Then it picked up again as we entered April with only one defeat in seven matches.

There was a fabulous fightback away at Eccleshall where we ran riot during the last ten minutes to come out 4-3 winners; a comfortable 5-1 leathering of Bacup Borough away from home; a decent 3-2 win at New Mills and also a fabulous 2-1 win at Cammell Laird.

The grueling fixture schedule saw us run out of gas for the last four matches, losing two and drawing two, bringing the season to a somewhat disappointing end.

Summer Sun, Something's Begun...

It will be an interesting pre-season.

Work on the ground to prepare us for next season will start as early as next week as the pitch is given some high-level treatment by the wonderful Phil Mottershead who has done a sterling job this season in the face of the wettest winter we've ever known.

There may also be some charity matches to attend at Park Road and, before you know it, July will be upon us and the pre-season friendlies will be here once more.

There's also big changes at league level for next season as the First Division is split into two regional divisions: North and South. We're expecting to be placed in the South section which will mean a whole host of new places to visit.

We'll be keeping you updated with all of the happenings from Park Road over the summer plus all of the big announcements from the league AGM in June.

As ever, watch this space and keep your eyes peeled on our social media channels.

2017-2018 Season Review: In Numbers

Final League Position and Points
12th place with 53 points - same league position as last season but with 8 fewer points!

Home League Record
4 wins, 8 draws, 9 defeats - much worse than last season in terms of points return from our home matches

Away League Record
10 wins, 3 draws, 8 defeats - almost identical to last season

Goals Scored (in all competitions)
81 in total; 37 at home and 44 away - 21 less goals scored than last season

Sir Richard of Whyatt. Scorer of goals: 26 of them.

Goals Conceded (in all competitions)
102 in total; 51 at home and 51 away - how's that for balance!

Goals Scored Half-by-Half (in all competitions)
36 in the first half; 45 in the second

Top Scorer
Rick Whyatt with 26 in all competitions - exactly the same number as last season's top scorer Rhys Webb. Without Rick's goals we would have been 24 points worse off this season...and we would have finished bottom of the table.

Biggest Win
5-1 v Bacup Borough away from home, Hallmark Security League First Division

Bacup Borough 1-5 Cheadle Town. Chris Sherrington is happy.

Heaviest Defeat
1-8 v Stockport County at home, Cheshire Senior Cup Preliminary Round

Most Consecutive Wins
4 - that little run we put together towards the end of the season, starting with the 5-1 win at Bacup Borough through to the 2-1 win at Cammell Laird

Most Consecutive Games Unbeaten
5 - again, incorporating that little run at the end of the season, from the 3-3 draw at home v Eccleshall to the 2-1 away win at Cammell Laird

Most Consecutive Games Without a Win
8 - from the 1-1 draw and ultimate penalty shoot-out loss v Northwich Victoria at home in the NWCFL League Cup through to the 1-1 draw at home to Carlisle City

League Doubles
3 - Bacup Borough, Cammell Laird and Atherton LR (again)

Percentage of League Points Gained by Venue
40% at home and 60% of them away!

League Points Gained as a Percentage of Total Points Possible
42% - a bit of a dip from last season's 46%

Impact of Cheadle Scoring or Conceding First
Every year we highlight this because every year it is the same. Simply put if we score first then the likelihood of us getting something out of the match is significantly increased. Take a look....

What Happened When We SCORED First?

...and What Happened When We CONCEDED First?

Anything Else Worth Mentioning?

• Jake Ambrose was the second-highest scorer with 9. This was down to a late surge as 5 of those goals came in the final ten matches of the season!
• This was the first time we had failed to score v Daisy Hill. Ever.

Cheadle Town 0-0 St Helens Town

"When you reach the last page, close the book" or so the Chinese proverb goes.

So that's that for another season. We'll analyse the 2017-18 term a bit further in the coming weeks but what a shame the end of this season had to end with something that was, well, all very "end of season".

The final line up of the 2017-18 season....

St Helens were the first to show after just 3 minutes, forcing Steve Piggott - making his final appearance between the sticks for Cheadle Town - to come out and make a stop.

Chris Sherrington then almost put one over for his brother Mike to get on the end of before Chris himself got himself on the end of a cross on the left only to blaze his effort high and not-so handsome over the bar.

Another frustrating afternoon for Danny Wood, his rib injury getting the better of him again.

St Helens' no9 was then clean through on the left but rolled his chance wide before Chris Sherrington was left cursing the firmer ground as a lob of his ended up bouncing over the crossbar.

Mssrs Christopher, McGreevy, Nield and Ratican then all went close with efforts before the half-time whistle.

The second half only saw two chances of note.

On 57 minutes Mike Sherrington found himself through on the left before lobbing the keeper only to see it roll wide before he then caught said keeper off-guard following a poor clearance on 72 minutes; his effort from range striking the upright, summing the afternoon up perfectly.

And that was that.

All done for another year

Again, our thanks to Steve Piggott for his many years as custodian. We look forward to having him as part of the coaching staff.

Our thanks also to First XI managerial/coaching team Antony Trucca, Chris Seaton and Paul Hodson and also to Megan Ratcliff who has been an exemplary physio this season.

Statistics, reviews etc. to come. Watch this space.

TEAM: Piggott, Nield, Ratican (Ambrose), Holt, Delaney, Dunn, McGreevy, Wood (Farrow), M Sherrington, Christopher (Cotton), C Sherrington. SUBS: Cotton, Farrow, Ambrose, Allcock (gk)