AFC Macclesfield crowned league two champions!

Premier Division

Poynton started their week with a 4-0 home win over local rivals Styal as Joe Knight (2) Arian Kalantari and Andy Oakes hit home, this was followed up with a 3-1 win away at Garswood United as they moved up to eleventh in the table.

Linotype CHN also took maximum points from both of their fixtures this week. Firstly beating Gamesley 5-1 in a game that saw Phil Yuille, Aaron Tyrer, Dean McGregor, Nehru McKenzie and Ashley Harrison saw. Before going on to beat Eagle Sports 2-0 away with Joe Hare and Ashley Harrison making the score sheet and moving Linotype up to third place. The current champions sit level on points with second place Whaley Bridge, six points behind leaders Knutsford with two games in hand.

A goal in the 21st minute from captain Ste Jenyons saw Knutsford beat Sandbach United 1-0 on Tuesday night, before drawing 2-2 at home with Rylands as two goals in seven minutes from Dean Nolan and Sean Lynch earned Knutsford the point.

Goals from Matt Burgess and Lee Vaughan cancelled out Lee Boardman’s strike as Greenalls PSO beat local rivals Eagle Sports 2-1 in their midweek fixture, while two late goals from the Alcock brothers helped Rudheath to a 2-1 win over Congleton Vale despite Jordan Erdmann giving them the lead in the 33rd minute.

Whaley Bridge remain in second place after beating Crewe 2-1 at home, while Adam Oakes scored for Gamesley to help them beat Rudheath Social 1-0 at home.

Sandbach United recorded their highest scoring game to date as they beat Styal 10-0! A hat trick in twenty five minutes from Luke Taylor got the home side off to a flying start and further goals from Jez Pacome and Tommy Watkin (penalty) saw Sandbach take a 5-0 lead into the break.

The second half saw Aiden Haughton and Dereece Gardner bag a brace each before Josh Lane completed the scoring on a successful day for the home side.

League One

Daten climbed into seventh spot as they beat title hopefuls Billinge 3-0 at home through goals from Jake Brown, Mike Nutkins and Jon Shakeshaft, while Maine Road moved out of the bottom two after beating Grappenhall Sports 2-1 at home as Tom Keyworth and Matthew Morgan hit home.

Egerton slip into the drop zone after losing 2-0 at home against Wythenshawe Town, while their opponents close the gap at the top to five points with four games in hand over leaders Billinge.

Altrincham Reserves kept the pressure on the top two after beating Middlewich Town 4-2 away. Two goals each from Harry Cain and Boris Melingui keep Altrincham a point behind Wythenshawe and with three games in hand over Billinge.

JA Walton Challenge Cup

A 1-1 draw between local rivals Middlewich Town and Lostock Gralam meant that both sides failed to qualify for the knock out stages. Maine Road Reserves will go through to the quarter finals on goal difference and will face group D winners Altrincham Reserves on 27th April.

Tuesday night saw an edgy affair between Altrincham Reserves and Golborne Sports. The home side had already qualified as group winners, while Golborne needed to win their remaining two games by eight clear goals to qualify on goal difference.

Harry Cain put Altrincham ahead in the 25th minute, only for Ward to put Golborne back on level terms four minutes later. Midway through the second half, defender Dave Collard headed Golborne into the lead, only for Max Pouncey to pull Altrincham back level six minutes later. Collard was in the mix again as he secured the win late into injury time as he tapped the ball home following a goal line scramble.

This meant that Golborne then had to beat Litherland Remyca Reserves by seven clear goals to secure their place in the quarter final… and they did! Kieron Eaves (2) Dan Bradshaw, Sam Rimmer, Alex Dunne Jonny Kavanagh and Gary Shannon all found the net to set up a quarter final away at FC St Helens on 20th April.

League Two

James Pearce was in fine form for Unicorn Athletic as he bagged a hat trick and helped them to a 4-0 home win over Litherland Remyca Reserves. Daniel Long scored the other goal for Unicorn, while Steve Ashton and Paul Sweeney scored in FC St Helen’s 2-1 win against Halebank.

Mersey Valley grabbed a last minute winner as they beat Moore United 4-3 away. Moore showed their intent from the start Worrall struck from distance in the 4th minute but it was Mersey Valley who struck first when their captain shot from 25 yards out. His shot took a bad deflection and beat Balmer in the Moore goal to put the away side ahead.

In the 16th minute Moore drew level as a Joe Holt free kick rounded the wall, the Valley keeper got down well to save it but couldn’t keep hold. Warburton was first to the loose ball but his shot is blocked, leaving Rudge free to tap home the rebound from close range.

Mersey Valley take the lead again in the 43rd minute when Moore failed to clear their lines but Chaddock pulled the home side back level within a minute as he sent a left footed volley crashing into the net to see the sides end the half back on level terms.

Despite the chances at each end the next goal didn’t arrive until the 85th minute when Mersey Valley again went in front but true to form, at the other end, a goal line scramble saw Chaddock turn the ball in to make it 3-3.

The game came to an agonising close for Moore as the Mersey Valley centre half pushed up the field to steal the winner in the 90th minute with a great strike from the edge of the box.

AFC Macclesfield rounded off a brilliant season as they won their 18th league game of the season and were crowned league champions having already achieved promotion last week. On a bright but cold and windy afternoon in Widnes, Macclesfield started the game slowly and looked nervous from the start with goalkeeper Dom Chell called into action with only a couple of minutes on the clock. Halebank's strong start paid off when Conor Speed was found unmarked to curl the ball past Chell to give the home side the lead.

This kick started Macclesfield into action and they started to find their rhythm, scoring the equaliser after just five minutes. Jonny Cavanagh found space just inside the opposition half and picked out Greg Mathers who composed himself and lobbed the ball over the on rushing keeper to make it 1-1.

However, Macclesfield again sat back and invited pressure and Dan Whalley capitalised, putting Halebank back in front on the half hour mark.

With just a couple of minutes left before half time and Macclesfield pressing, Jack Banister gathered the ball on the edge of the Halebank penalty area and faced up to the opposition left back before being brought down in the box. Mathers placed the ball on the spot and thundered the ball into the top left hand corner making it 2-2 at the break.

The winner came in the 80th minute when a long ball from goalkeeper Chell, wasn't dealt with by the Halebank centre half. Greg Mathers gambled, took the ball and found himself one on one with the keeper, he picked his spot and rolled the ball under the keeper to secure the points and the title for Macclesfield.

FC St Helens climbed into fifth spot as they beat Mersey Valley 4-2 away through goals from Liam Houghton (2) Joe McKeegan and Adam Worthington, while Cuddington beat Moore United 5-2 away thanks to goals from Rick Bettley, Dan Hainsworth (2) Nathan Harwood and Josh Mainwaring. Moore’s goals were scored by Sam Chaddock.

Will Reid scored twice for Lostock Gralam as they shared the points with Cheadle Town Reserves in a 2-2 draw. The point leaves them two behind second place Warrington Town Reserves as they desperately try to bounce straight back into league one next season.

Reserve League One

Eagle Sports started the week with a 1-0 home win over Daten through a goal from Neil Waring as they looked to make up their backlog of fixtures caused by the bad weather. Their second game of the week saw them lost 3-1 away at Poynton, where Lee Broome, Mark Faulkner and Alex Jones hit home to see their side move six points behind leaders Whaley Bridge with two games in hand.

Billinge proved to be a thorn in Whaley Bridge’s side as the league leaders lost 5-2 away. Neil Hilton and Ryan Sephton both bagged a brace, while Anthony Bennett also hit home in a successful day for the St Helens side who now sit in fifth.

Linotype CHN remain in third spot following a 4-1 home win over Garswood United as Jordan Thompson (2) Kayle Power and Ashley Leather all made the score sheet.

Knutsford A sit in fourth as they sneaked a 3-2 win away at Greenalls PSO. Howard Clayton and Bradley Williams scored in the first half before Kallum McDonough secured the winner with ten minutes left on the clock.

Ken Mather added two to his season’s tally as he helped Sandbach United to a 4-2 win at home against Styal. Kris Stockton and Anthony Broadhurst also scored for Sandbach, while Matt West and Alex Wheelan found the net for Styal.

Reserve League Cup

The penultimate game in group C saw local rivals Whaley Bridge and Gamesley draw 1-1, meaning that Whaley must now beat group leaders Rylands in order to go through as group winners.

Reserve League Two

A first half goal from Jack Lawrence helped league leaders Rylands to a 1-0 win over Golborne Sports on Thursday night as they look to keep their promotion hopes alive. They now sit three points clear of second place West Didsbury & Chorlton A with two games in hand.

Saturday saw Denton Town finish 4-1 winners over bottom side Golborne. Mike Bennett scored twice, while John Brennan and Carl Walker also found the net in a win that moved Denton up to third.