Alport 4 Ashton Town 0
Two Si Everall goals helped Whitchurch to a resounding win in front of 247 supporters at a chilly Yockings Park. Elliot Ledwards and Wes Nelson were also on target for the Reds who have gone two months since conceding a goal on home soil, and the win was the biggest in the league since the 5-0 romp at Eccleshall in October. But the win – although comfortable in the end – wasn’t quite as resounding as the scoreline might suggest. Town missed a couple of excellent chances to score, and hit the bar as well as missing a penalty with Alport 2-0 up. But Whitchurch were ruthless when they needed to be and two goals in the last 10 minutes had Ashton dead on their feet and desperate for the whistle to come. The opening 25 minutes saw little in the way of goalmouth activity but when the deadlock was broken it had a large slice of luck about it. An attempted clearance struck Ledwards and rebounded beyond Town’s Mark Hodge to settle the nerves. They were almost unsettled though within five minutes when Ashton were clean through with a 2-on-1 opportunity but Gary Purcell – who had a stinker – gently lifted the ball at a grateful Krystian Burzynski making his debut in the home goal. Top scorer Mike Blundell came on at the interval and he completely transformed the way that Alport played. They were far more inventive after the break and he made two fantastic assists late on. The second goal came early in the second half with Nelson finishing well with a low right foot shot that gave Hodge little chance but Ashton were given a superb chance to get back into the game when they won a penalty on the hour. Jack Irlam danced past the figure of Luke Goddard – who’s renowned for giving away the odd pen or two – but Purcell was far too casual and Burzynski made the save. The Polish keeper had already endeared himself to the home fans with a brilliantly agile stop in the first half to push a header onto the bar, before denying Purcell from the rebound. Purcell was hooked soon after missing from the spot but Town’s fortunes would get no better as the Reds clicked into overdrive in the closing stages of the game. Blundell’s fantastic pass into Everall saw the skipper blast past Hodge for 3-0 but there was even better to follow. Blundell was clearly in the mood and a fantastic diagonal pass on a difficult pitch found Alex Hughes in space on the right. The striker took one touch and unselfishly crossed low for Everall to tap in his second four minutes from the end. Stevie McNichol’s diving header in stoppage time would have resulted in a fifth but for an outstanding stop from Hodges but that might have been cruel for Town – who remain cast adrift at the basement. The contrast between both teams standings in the table could barely be more stark.