Alport 3 Bacup Borough 0
 
A first half goal blitz earned Alport another precious three points in front of a Yockings Park crowd of 273 as Bacup Borough became the ninth side to try – and fail – to halt the Whitchurch juggernaut. Si Everall ended his mini goal drought when he lashed in an 11th minute shot and midfielder Joey Howell added a second shortly after. The impeccable Sean Griffiths made it three just past the half hour with the pick of the bunch, and although the second half produced no more goals, the Reds will have been delighted with an eighth shut-out in 12 league games on home soil.
 
Alport’s intent was clear from the outset and they were 2-0 up before the beleaguered away side could even get out of their own half. It was arguably Alport’s best display of the season in a one-sided first half. Everall beat Nick Sharples from 10 yards with a fierce shot the keeper had no hope of saving and five minutes later Bacup were two adrift. Lee Pickerill’s corner was flicked on by Ben Mills and there was Howell to bundle the ball over the line from close range. And when Griffiths scored a terrific third goal after 32 minutes you feared for Brent Peters’ side. By the time the half time whistle sounded, Bacup were like a boxer out for the count and they needed 15 minutes in their corner.
 
Far from throwing the towel in though, Borough came out a different animal in the second half. A couple of substitutions gave them better balance and they became more of a threat going forward with Matthew Bryan playing a pivotal role.
 
With the heavy pitch worsening and a howling wind swirling around Yockings Park for the last 20 minutes, the game fizzled out from an Alport perspective. Arron Johns might have added to the scoreline when Pickerill teed him up nicely, but the chance of the match fell to Bryan late on. A ball in from the right had seen the Reds defence go AWOL for once, but from just 8 yards out and central to goal, the number 10 could only direct his free header straight at a hugely grateful Danny Read.
 
There were plenty of positives to take from the afternoon with the result a perfect tonic for missing Alport chief, Luke Goddard, who missed the match with viral gastroenteritis. The Yockings Park side are now into the top three with their fate in their own hands, but they will be conscious of a hectic fixture list with only 13 weeks of the season left, and 19 league matches plus two cup semi finals to squeeze into that time frame.