Vulcan close in on their rivals

Vulcan close in on their rivals in League One and Winnington open up a six-point gap at the top of League Two
There were no Premier Division fixtures last Saturday on a weekend that was dominated by meteorological and cup interference.
The third round of the CCFA Cup pitted top against third as leaders Crewe travelled to Altrincham Town for a showdown with their reserves.
The hosts put in an impressive performance to advance in the competition as they dispatched Crewe 6-2.
In the same competition Knutsford were knocked out after they found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-2 result when they travelled to Upton AA.
It was a bad weekend for Blacon Youth too; they finally played having not laced up their boots since the 21st September. They hosted Chester Nomads in a hotly anticipated local derby but lost on penalties in the DFA Chester Cup.
St Helens had better luck in their LFA Amateur Cup third round tie; they travelled to Coppull United and ran out 3-1 winners.
The top two both dropped points in League One which allowed Vulcan to close the gap between themselves and the leaders.
Vulcan won 3-0 away to Maine Road Reserves whilst leaders Windle lost despite scoring four times at home to Styal who edged it with the odd goal in nine.
Second placed Winstanley couldn’t shake off a dogged Cuddington side despite a hat-trick for Elliot Morris who took his tally to 21 goals for the season.
A brace from Tom Hassell helped earn Cuddington a valuable point as the game ended four all.
In League Two it is as you were at the top of the table with the leaders Winnington living up to their name with a 2-1 success at St Helens Town Reserves to open up a six-point gap at the top.
One place further back sit Knowsley who won 2-0 at Sandbach United Reserves. In third and fourth Newton and Partington lie seven and nine points off the pace but have each played only 5 times in the league this season and are currently unbeaten.
Indeed, Newton boast a 100% record as do Parklands who have twelve points from their four games played.
In the only other League Two action last weekend Rylands Reserves picked up only their second win of the season with a 5-1 success against hapless Hartford.
There was only one league came across both reserve divisions as Winstanley Warriors Reserves beat Broadheath Central A 3-1 thanks to goals from Ahmed Hussain, Joe McDonagh and Brad Stokes.
There was plenty of action in the Reserve Division Challenge Cup starting with Poynton’s 4-2 victory at Styal. A double from Matt Tattler plus strikes from Andrew Simpson and John Cairns wrapped up the win.
Middlwich and Lostock faced off in a game marred by four red cards; the game ended 2-2 but much of the post-match talk was about the performance of the referee.
Billinge ran out comfortable winners over Golborne, goals from John Paul Sprowson, Henry William Leonard and Richard Allen secured a 3-0 win.

Dan Whelan
CFL Press Officer