Alport 1 Alsager Town 1
 
Whitchurch Alport’s 11 match winning streak came to an end at Yockings Park with Alsager Town full value for the point they gained from a 1-1 draw. Ben Mills headed Alport into a 14th minute lead but they failed to build on the early momentum and Jordan Edman lashed in a leveller for the Bullets just past the half hour.
 
In truth this was a scrappy affair and never really lived up to its second against sixth billing. 303 spectators made their way up Black Park Road with the vast majority hoping to see the home side add another scalp to an ever growing list.
 
The game barely drew a save of any real note from either keeper with both defences well marshalled for the lion’s share of the contest. But when the deadlock was broken it took a quite exceptional finish from Mills to get the home fans cheering. Typical industry in the centre of the park from Sean Griffiths set Alport on the front foot, and when the ball was whipped in by Lee Pickerill from the left, Mills twisted his frame to direct a superb diving header beyond James Coates who was powerless to keep it out.
 
Alsager came back almost immediately and some neat trickery saw Mickey Lennon wriggle free on the byline only to drop a tame low cross straight at Danny Read. Erdman headed a reasonable chance over Read’s crossbar but 90 seconds later when the Reds failed to clear their lines, there was the centre forward to lash the ball into the bottom corner to restore parity.
 
Richard Smith made a superb headed clearance from close to his own goalline from an Alport corner but at half-time the sides went off with barely a whisker between them.
 
After the break, Griffiths fired one a couple of yards wide and Si Everall was crowded out when he looked like he’d fashioned a goal scoring opportunity for himself. The skipper then headed well wide from a Pickerill cross and at the other end there was an almighty let off for the home side when defender Dave Harry had a great chance but screwed a shot way off target.
 
Matthew German’s red card for Town was no surprise when it came with 10 minutes to play, and Si Everall came close to winning it with a fine header that was just off target. Alsager were happy to let the clock run down and few would argue that they deserved the point they gained from a gritty performance.
 
Dropping two points saw the Reds drop to third in the table on goal difference, but with 51 league points still to fight for, Alport are still in with a fantastic shout of automatic promotion. This could well turn out to be a point gained when the final points are tallied up at the end of the campaign.