Press Report 23rd April

Premier Division

Linotype CHN continue to climb the table as they took maximum points from both of their fixtures this week. Kieran Herbet (2) and Phil Yuille helped them to a 3-0 win away at Styal, before Yuille, Ashley Harrison and George Blackwell scored in their 3-1 home win against Poynton. They now sit six points behind leaders Knutsford with two games in hand.

An 85th minute goal from Mike Cartner secured Knutsford a 1-0 win over Eagle Sports on Tuesday, before they went on to beat Denton Town 2-1 away through goals from David Owens and Joshua Wates.

Crewe started the week with a 2-1 win away at Rudheath Social thanks to goals from George Ward and Damien Adamzcyk but went on to lose 2-1 away at Eagle Sports.

Jordan Erdmann gave Congleton Vale the lead in the 16th minute against Greenalls PSO but Lee Vaughan brought the away side back on level terms seconds before the half time whistle. Vaughan scored again the second half to see Greenalls finish 2-1 winners.

Congleton bounced back to beat Rylands 3-0 at home to retain fourth place. Erdmann was on the score sheet again as a free kick from Richie Booth was flicked on by debutant Jack o’Gara for Erdmann to fire home in the 39th minute. The second goal was impressive as Billy Buckley curled a free kick from the touch line into the top far corner for 2-0, before Jack Macconnell followed up a saved Billy Buckley effort to fire home from ten yards late into injury time to secure the win for Congleton.

Whaley Bridge sit in third place after beating Rudheath Social 2-1 at home, while Sandbach United beat Garswood United 1-0 to move into fifth.

Gamesley now sit in sixth spot after beating Malpas 4-2 at home thanks to a brace each from Mike Dewhurst and Adam Oakes.

League One

Midweek saw Grappenhall Sport share the points in a 1-1 draw with Wythenshawe Town. Ross Dryden came off the bench to score for Grappenhall while Niall Rhodes scored for Wythenshawe. Grappenhall sit two points above the drop zone with two games in hand over the teams around them, while Wythenshawe sit in third, four points off top, with three games in hand.

Chris Trowbridge (2) and Scott Barlow scored for Egerton in their 3-0 win over Middlewich Town but the away side bounced back to beat Tarporley Victoria 2-0 at the weekend through goals from James Dean and Sam Wakefield.

Altrincham Reserves closed the gap at the top to three points after they beat Daten 4-1 at home. They have two games left to play and need to win both to guarantee promotion while current leaders Billinge will play the waiting game having already completed their league fixtures.

Presidents Cup

The first round of the Presidents Cup saw Pilkington beat Golborne Sports Reserves 5-3 as the sides met midweek. Calvin Birchall, Matty Taylor, Brad Smailes and Danny Hughes (2) scored for Pilkington, while Ryan Imison, Mike Koppell and Dale Jones hit the net for Golborne.

Goals from Peter Cloran (2) Oliver Tharratt, Chris Lunn and Ryan Stewart helped Unicorn to a 5-1 win over Lostock Gralam, while Billinge finished 4-3 winners away at Mersey Valley, thanks to goals from Chris Cottington, Danny Hewitt and Ryan & Liam Platt.

JA Walton Challenge Cup

There were two extremely tight quarter finals in the JA Walton Cup as both had to be settled on penalties. FC St Helens v Golborne Sports ended goalless and penalties saw Golborne win 7-6 to reach the semi-final.

Warrington Town Reserves came back from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 against Halebank, only to lose 7-6 on penalties. Halebank will play Golborne Sports on 4th May.

League Two

Midweek saw Cuddington win 2-1 away at Cheadle Town Reserves, while Litherland Remyca Reserves secured their second win of the season beating Moore United 2-0 through goals from Niall Gannon and Ewan McEvitt.

Harry Wheetman hit home twice as champions AFC Macclesfield carried on their winning streak to beat Mersey Valley 4-2 at home, despite being 2-1 down at the break. Chris Coppenhall and Jack Banister also scored for the home side.

FC St Helens moved into fourth place with a convincing 3-0 win over West Didsbury & Chorlton Reserves as Liam Houghton, Morgan Deardon and Byron o’Regan all hit home, while Warrington Town Reserves sit in second place after goals from Bowers (3) Parker, Collins and Cooper helped them to a 6-0 home win over Cuddington.

Reserve League One

Greenalls PSO started the week with a 2-0 win away at Poynton, while a brace from Bradley Williams saw Knutsford A beat Daten 2-1 at home.

Garswood United beat Eagle Sports 1-0, while Gamesley rolled out 3-1 winners at home against Styal thanks to goals from Aaron Woods (2) and Brandon Bethell.

Billinge remain in third place after a convincing 6-3 win at home against Grappenhall Sports that saw Anthony Bennett, Liam Roughley, Neil Hilton, Josh Lowe and Ryan Sephton (2) all hit home.

Sandbach United sit in ninth spot following a 3-1 home win over Gamesley that saw Aidan Cox and Ken Mather (2) score, while Eagle Sports returned to winning form with a 4-2 win over Grappenhall Sports.

There were goals galore as Poynton played host to local rivals Linotype CHN. Lee Broome bagged a hat trick for the home side, while Cameron Manning, Jordan Thompson and Scott Cheetham scored for Linotype to see the game finish 3-3. The point keeps Poynton five points behind leaders Whaley Bridge, while Linotype sit in fifth.

Styal returned to winning form as they beat Knutsford A 2-0 away from home. Matt West hit the ground running as he forced Carl Barlow in the Knutsford net into two brilliant saves early on. It wasn’t long before the deadlock was broken as a well-rehearsed corner from Kieran McGuire set up Matt Clarke to thump his header home. Knutsford were kept to one chance in the first half when Alan Osborne was alert to smother their attempt on his goal.

As Knutsford pushed forward in the second half they started to leave gaps and allowed Styal’s Matt Clarke to make a fine run through the defence, only to see his shot fly over the keeper, the Knutsford crossbar.

Styal brought fresh legs on with Lee Allen, Sam Cawthra, Ryan Jones and Jake Goodhall. This made an immediate impact as Ryan Jones broke through for a one on one with the keeper only to see another fine save. However it wasn't long before Knutsford succumbed to the pressure as they failed to clear another Styal attack and Lee Allen with some neat footwork slotted home to extend the Styal lead.

Reserve League Cup

Whaley Bridge go through as group C winners after beating Malpas 1-0 in a tight game this weekend. The win means that Whaley will host Sandbach United, while Rylands will travel to local rivals Eagle Sports.

Reserve League Two

Two wins this week saw Wythenshawe Town climb up to fourth place after beating Moore United 5-1 at home and securing a 3-2 win away at Malpas. They sit seven points behind second place West Didsbury & Chorlton A with four games in hand.

Denton Town sit in third place after beating Mersey Valley 4-2 at home thanks to a brace from Michael Bennett further goals from John Brennan and Russ Dobson.