Cheadle Town 1 Alport 4
 
A second half hat-trick from Arron Johns helped Alport to gain a first league away win since August as they eased past Cheadle Town at Park Road Stadium. The hosts had gone ahead on the stroke of half time when Luke Pearson’s free-kick found the corner of the net, but Johns’ treble inside 23 second half minutes earned the Shropshire side a vital three points.
 
Alport should have had a cushion by the time Pearson scored with Nicky Porter, Simon Everall and Johns himself all missing chances to put the Reds in front. Dan Whiting in the home goal was key to keeping out Alport on more than one occasion and on a heavy pitch it looked like the teams would go in level. But when Luke Goddard gave away one of many free kicks, the number 3 pierced the wall and a fourth consecutive away defeat loomed.
 
But through the second half mist, Alport started on the front foot with Johns firing straight at the Town keeper before Joe Howell had an effort chalked off with the flag going up for offside.
 
Seven minutes into the second 45 came through the breakthrough. Stevie McNichol fired hard and low towards goal and as Whiting parried, there was Johns to slam home the rebound. The 40 plus travelling support suddenly found their voices and 10 minutes after the equaliser, Johns scored again.  The number 11 held off a defender, and picked out the far corner of the net to give Alport the momentum with Cheadle visibly tiring.
 
Jake Ambrose did have a glorious chance to level but volleyed horribly wide and that was Town’s last chance gone. Within five minutes the game was put to bed. Goddard curled a precise pass down the left channel for Everall to control and once the skipper had pulled the ball back from the by-line, Johns fired past Whiting much to the delight of his teammates and the away support.
 
With 11 minutes left, substitute Dean Twigg was on hand to net from close range after Whiting pushed out a fierce Everall shot to mark his 21st birthday with Alport’s fourth. And fellow sub, Hovik Nersesyan, had what should have been a legitimate fifth ruled out as the mist continued to swirl around underneath the flightpath to Manchester Airport.
 
This wasn’t vintage Alport but with pitches deteriorating they will need to grind out results like this one. Showing tremendous resolve, the team fought hard for one another to earn three precious points to go back into the Top 6, and you could tell what it meant to them with players and staff jubilant with their superb support on the whistle.