Press Report 9/4/16

Premier Division

Midweek saw Eagle Sports beat local rivals Rylands 2-1 despite Koubemba Odilion scoring in the first half to put Rylands ahead. Two second half goals saw Eagle Sports secure all three points in their local derby but followed up the win with a 3-2 defeat away at Linotype CHN on Saturday. Liam Danaher, Dean McGregor and Ashley Harrison all scored to move the home side up to fourth.

Poynton grabbed three vital points as they beat Rylands 4-1 but another Denton Town win saw them beat Congleton Vale 5-2 to keep Poynton in the drop zone. Dan Buehler scored in the 9th minute for Congleton with Damon Oakengates and Billy Buckley grabbing second half goals but Denton were unstoppable as they battle hard to retain their place in the top division.

Knutsford moved back into top spot as they won 3-1 away at Malpas. Ste Jenyons and Mark Evans both scored in the opening five minutes to get Knutsford the best possible start and they were strong at the back ensuring they took the two goal lead into the break. The second half was all about the next goal and it happened for Knutsford as they made it 3-1 in the 51st minute when Jenyons slotted home from the penalty spot for his second of the game.

Malpas got a life line with twenty minutes to go when Andy Morris headed home from close range and at the other end, Conner Tinsley pulled off a number of good saves as the home side pushed forward, looking for the second goal which never came.

League One

Billinge moved eight points clear at the top of the table as they beat local rivals Pilkington 3-1 at home thanks to goals from Chris Cottington, Ryan Platt and David Wright.

JA Walton Challenge Cup

Maine Road Reserves moved up to second in group B as they stormed to a 4-0 home win against Cuddington. Calum Broady scored twice with Daniel Hulme and Tom Keyworth also finding the net. The final game in this group will be played on Tuesday between local rivals Middlewich Town and Lostock Gralam. Both sides need a win to secure their place in the next round but a draw would mean that Maine Road progress on goal difference.

A brace from Andrew Brown helped Egerton to a 2-1 win away at Tarporley Victoria, despite Egerton being reduced to nine men. The result means that Warrington Town Reserves progress as winners of group C, while AFC Macclesfield go through as runners up.

In group D, Altrincham Reserves secured their place as group winners after a convincing 7-0 win over Litherland Remyca Reserves. Billinge currently sit in second place on ten points but Golborne Sports have two games left to play and are still in with a chance of going through if they win both and score eight goals across the two games.

League Two

AFC Macclesfield have secured promotion to league one next season following a 4-0 win away at Unicorn Athletic. The first half was lacklustre with Macclesfield looking nervous and struggling to find that killer ball to open up the opposition defence. The Unicorn defence were resilient and it was clear they had set up their team to combat Macclesfield’s attacking style of play.

On the stroke of half time, Macclesfield were awarded a corner and Greg Mathers swung the ball in from the right. Harry Wheetman lost his marker and struck the ball into the Unicorn net.

Knowing that a second goal was vital, Macclesfield started to put more pressure on the Unicorn defence and Chris Coppenhall thought he'd doubled Macclesfield’s lead when the Unicorn goalkeeper made a good save from Mathers but the ball fell to the on running Coppenhall who calmly placed the ball in the bottom corner of the Unicorn net but the goal was disallowed for offside. Jack Banister suffered the same punishment when he found the back of the net but the goal was again ruled offside.

With Unicorn tiring, more chances started to come and in the 62nd minute, Jonny Cavanagh played the ball out wide to Greg Mathers. Mathers was aware Scott Wright was overlapping and he let the ball run superbly through his legs to find the on rushing Wright. Wright was left with only the keeper to beat and he calmly placed the ball into the inside of the post to double Macclesfield’s lead.

It wasn't long before it was three. Harry Wheetman was brought down in the box and with no hesitation the referee pointed to the spot; Mathers stepped up and converted the goal which was soon followed by a fourth when Jack Banister this time beat the offside trap to secure all three points.

AFC Macclesfield must now secure three points from their remaining three games to be crowned as league champions.

Warrington Town Reserves proved to be unstoppable this week as they have scored fifteen goals across their two fixtures. Midweek saw them beat Unicorn Athletic 10-0 at home as Rhys Bowers bagged a hat trick. John Edge and Ben Collins scored a brace each, while Chris Bandell, Richie Allen and Adam Campbell also hit home.

They followed this up with a 5-0 home win over fellow title contenders Lostock Gralam to leap-frog their opponents into second place. The win puts them three points ahead of Lostock but having played a game more as they look to bounce straight back up into league one.

Moore United shared the points with Cheadle Town Reserves as the sides played out a 2-2 draw. Moore took the lead after eight minutes when Joe Holt shot from just outside the box, the Cheadle keeper got down well to save but he could only parry it as far as Sam Chaddock who stabbed the ball home from 3 yards.

Ten minutes later Danny Dunne went on a run and as Chaddock and Holt pushed forwards, their markers followed leaving a gaping hole in the defence. Dunne carried the ball to the edge of the box before putting it onto his left foot and firing off a scuffed shot that went just wide of the post.

In the 23rd minute a Cheadle corner from the left was met well but Willets on the post headed out for another corner. The resulting corner was cleared off the line this time by Willott as he put his foot through it and defused the danger.

With five minutes to half time, a Cheadle throw down the right was headed on by Moore’s Dunne to set Joe Holt on a mazy run. He carried the ball inside the box before shooting from a tight angle across the keeper, but the shot went just wide of the far post.

Three minutes later Cheadle equalise through their number 7. The ball was worked across the box and he did well to spin Williams before firing a shot that hit the underside of the bar & in to see the sides go into the break on level terms.

In the 56th minute, Joe Holt squared a ball across the box that Sam Chaddock left for Phil Gahgan to side-foot from 12 yards into the top corner to restore Moore’s lead but with fifteen minutes left on the clock Cheadle drew level again as another corner was not dealt with properly and the Cheadle striker headed home for 2-2.

Halebank and West Didsbury & Chorlton also shared the points in a 2-2 draw as the sides met for the second time in a month. Dan Whalley and Lee Marshall were on the score sheet for Halebank while Danny Summers and Shackeel Depeiza hit home for West Didsbury.

Reserve League One

Midweek fixtures saw Billinge move up to fifth after beating Knutsford A 3-2 through goals from Chris Cottington and Sam Denton (2) while Jonathon Keddie and Kieran Welding scored in Garswood United’s 2-1 win away at Greenalls PSO.

Styal continued their run of form with an entertaining 3-3 draw at home against Greenalls PSO on Saturday. The home team got off to the perfect start when a flick on from Callan Kinsella fell to Matt West who ran at the Greenalls defence and coolly slotted home. Styal looked lively and were causing the Greenalls defence all sorts of problems but they couldn't find the finishing touch.

Greenalls were growing in confidence as the half progressed and equalised five minutes from half time after Styal failed to clear a corner and the impending shot found its way through a crowded penalty area.

Styal tried to take the game to Greenalls in the second half but their striker managed to beat the offside trap to make it 2-1. Greenalls enhanced their lead with some skilful play by the corner flag when the winger danced passed the Styal defence to deliver a perfect ball into the box for an easy header and 3-1.

Styal made several substitutions with the introduction of Jordan Lang, Dion Kemp and Kieran McGuire and threw caution going to a 3-4-3 formation which had an immediate impact as Matt West ran at the Greenalls defence only to be bundled down for Styal’s first penalty of the season. Matt Clarke coolly stepped up to slot home and give Styal a lifeline.
Styal started to play some good football creating chances and it wasn't long before they struck again when a lovely move down the left saw a tantalising cross delivered into the Greenalls box which they couldn't deal with and saw Matt Clarke get his toe on it which deflected off the Greenalls defender for the equaliser.

The home side almost took all three points as Jordan Lang broke free on the right only to see his shot fly over the bar.

Garswood United got their second win of the week as they beat Grappenhall Sports 5-2 away to slip into seventh spot thanks to goals from Danny Clarke (2) Alan Clarke, Ryan Ormrod and Mike Piling.

Daten took a big step away from the drop zone as they beat Sandbach United 2-1 at home. The win moves them up into eighth spot, three points from danger meaning Grappenhall Sports drop down into the bottom two.

Reserve League Challenge Cup

The last game in group B saw Wythenshawe Town beat Eagle Sports 2-0 away but Eagle will still progress to the knock out stages as group winners, alongside runners up Sandbach United.

Poynton Sports missed out on their chance to qualify for the next round as they lost 2-1 at home against Golborne Sports. Meaning that Rylands progress from group C as winners with Whaley Bridge as runners up.