A 94th minute equaliser from 1874 Northwich dented Whitchurch Alport`s hopes of a first victory in the Hallmark Security League Premier Division at Yockings Park.
 
The visitors were one of the fancied teams pre season for league glory and made the short journey into Shropshire with an identical record as Alport after the first two games. Throughout the game it was very much Northwich who looked to control possession as the Reds looked to remain organised and frustrate one of the divisions best sides. With this during the first period Alport played some decent football themselves on the return and took the lead on 20 minutes. A neat passing move found Tim Sanders in space whose ball around the corner to Simon Everall was drilled across where a combination of an Arron Johns touch and a defender found its way into the visitors goal to give Alport an early lead.
 
At the other end Dave Parton pulled off one smart save from a curling effort from Northwich and winger Joe Wooley went close with a shot from the right hand side that skimmed the post. The final fifteen minutes of the half didnt produce any more clear cut opportunities for either side in truth as both probed away with Northwich looking to break down a stubborn home defence. HT 1-0
 
The second half started at a frantic pace set by the visitors as they looked to force their way back into the game. They now began to move the ball with an even greater tempo and work the Alport 18 yard box from wide areas with good delivery. Joe Minshall and Leon Ashman at the heart of the Alport defence dealt well with the majority of these deliveries in the opening fifteen minutes despite the pressure being applied. On the return Joe Howell forced a corner mid way through the half with an effort that was well saved by the Northwich goalkeeper. Alport were very wasteful in the second half failing to retain the ball and make the most of space given when breaking up the field. This led to a nervy final twenty minute period as the home side invited pressure from the composed Northwich side that were a credit to their club with their persistency to enjoy possession as they searched for that equaliser. That effort was rewarded in the final minute of added time, a long ball forward this time wasn’t dealt with by Twigg who looked to have been fouled before slipping and the resulting cross was tapped home by substitute Matt Beadle to send the 1874 players, staff and superb travelling support into celebration. From the kick off the frustration nearly cost Alport a hard earned point as they switched off and allowed Scott McGowan to run into the 18 yard box unchallenged and his effort clipped the far post! A major let off for the home side as the referee blew the final whistle and both teams shared the points remaining on identical records after three games. FT 1-1
 
Manager Luke Goddard`s thoughts;
 
“Obviously im gutted for the lads with the timing of the goal at the end but in reflection it was what 1874 deserved from the second half so i have no complaints with the final result. Our lads put in a great shift against one of the proven sides in this league especially after the game we went through on Saturday. We`ve given debuts to lads like Callum Oconnor who has never played at this level before and left more proven lads on the bench, for me that will go along way as we continue to grow into this division and get stronger as the weeks pass by. The effort and attitude all season has been great and after all four games so far i can see the signs of what we are building even early on. Its vital we are competitive and no can argue with that from our opening fixture so far, we bounce into our FA Cup fixture this weekend”