Charnock 2 (2) v Whitchurch Alport 3 (2)
Managers Luke Goddard and Carl Everall welcomed back captain Si Everall aswell as midfielders Liam Prince and Steve McNichol for Saturdays encounter at high flying Charnock Richard. Two changes were made after last week’s disappointing FA Vase exit as Dan Tinsley and captain Everall came into the starting eleven.
In blazing sunshine backed by another superb following from the Alport faithful it was a start to forget for Whitchurch as they fell two goals behind within fifteen minutes. A blatant shout of “leave it” from a Charnock forward was ignored by the official in the Alport penalty area and in the confusion Ant Tinsley was alleged to have bought down Charnocks number eleven with the referee awarding the hosts a penalty. Spencer Bibby made no mistake from the penalty spot beating Cooke to his right hand side to give the Lancashire outfit an early lead. The frustration of a poor decision rattled Alport and within minutes they found themselves two goals down and seemingly a mountain to climb to gain any points from their trip to Mossie Park. A direct ball forward wasn’t dealt with as Parkinson found himself free on the left hand side, his cross eventually ended up at top goal scorer Carl Grimshaw who drilled home from fifteen yards to double Charnocks lead.
Despite a woeful beginning to the game Alport looked a threat, mainly through skipper Si Everall as he worked the channels being a constant threat to the home sides defence for the whole afternoon. As the half progressed so did Whitchurch as they began to relax and play some of their familiar football in an attempt to get back into the game. The reward soon followed with Dan Tinsley the player to step up and become the hero of the afternoon. A succession of corners began the pressure on the Charnock goal and after another fine delivery from Hughes it was Tinsley who rose the highest to head home from six yards to put Alport back in the game after thirty three minutes. Character has been a huge asset of this new Whitchurch side especially during the pre season matches and within six minutes the Reds were level after Tinsley grabbed the equaliser with his shot looping in despite the best efforts of the Charnock goalkeeper. With just two minutes remaining of the first half the remarkable comeback was nearly complete. Blundell produced a fantastic cross to the far post where the unmarked Tinsley had the whole goal to aim at but somehow his header was directed wide when it looked destined for the back of the net! HT 2-2
The momentum was now very much in Alports favour as second placed Charnock struggled to cope with the fight back from the away side. Whitchurch were full of confidence, moving the ball around with a purpose as they searched for the winning goal. That soon came with skipper Everall beating his marker before delivering a superb cross into the Charnock penalty area and it was Tinsley who again showed the determination to out jump the centre half, heading into the back of the net for his hat-trick. In the final twenty minutes Alport showed a maturity to see the game out even when Charnock committed more players forward looking for an equaliser themselves. Ledwards and Marley most notably with two excellent clearances late on to preserve Alports lead and fine record of not conceding a goal in the final fifteen minutes in any game so far this season.