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BackSat 22 Jul 2017
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Whitchurch Alport FC
3
2
Whitchurch Alport FC v Hanley Town
Callum Bradke22 Jul 2017 - 15:00
Match report
Hanley Town 3 Alport 2
A late Theo Stair wonder strike gave Premier Division Hanley a win over their First Division opponents. Alport had trailed by two goals early on but had managed to haul themselves level and looked the more likely team to fashion a winner with the clock running down. But Stair’s exquisite curling free-kick found the top corner to inflict a third pre-season defeat on the Reds.
Alport suffered a blow even before the game got underway when first choice keeper Rob Cooke was left stricken by a warm up injury that led to Cam Phelps taking over the gloves. And with exactly a minute on the watch, Phelps was at full stretch to push away a fine John Sheldon free-kick for Town. The opening goal came when Lee Skellen lifted the ball over Phelps on 13 minutes and three minutes later, Sheldon netted a belter of a free-kick to double the hosts lead. A third goal ought to have come about when the Reds defence stood still again but a horrible miss spared their blushes. Sheldon wasn’t far away with another fierce drive from the edge of the box, but just as it looked like a mauling might be on the cards, Si Everall got on the end of Dean Twigg’s precise free-kick to power a header past Joe Hemmings. Two minutes later a cracking move down the left was switched inside and Hemmings pulled off a really smart stop to deny young Luke Walley a brilliant leveller.
In the second period Alport continued on the front foot and there was an amazing let off for Hanley with Hemmings somehow denying Ben Mills from point blank range before Twigg saw his follow up volley also miraculously kept out. With 16 minutes to go though, Whitchurch grabbed a deserved equaliser when Mills got the faintest of touches to glance Liam Prince’s set piece in off a post.
For all the world it looked like there was only going to be one winner but Stair curled home a beauty from another dead ball routine to give Town the win. It might have ended very differently but for another outstanding save from Hemmings who did just enough to turn a Ryan Thomas header over the bar, but despite conceding late on, this was another really good work out for the Alport lads.
A late Theo Stair wonder strike gave Premier Division Hanley a win over their First Division opponents. Alport had trailed by two goals early on but had managed to haul themselves level and looked the more likely team to fashion a winner with the clock running down. But Stair’s exquisite curling free-kick found the top corner to inflict a third pre-season defeat on the Reds.
Alport suffered a blow even before the game got underway when first choice keeper Rob Cooke was left stricken by a warm up injury that led to Cam Phelps taking over the gloves. And with exactly a minute on the watch, Phelps was at full stretch to push away a fine John Sheldon free-kick for Town. The opening goal came when Lee Skellen lifted the ball over Phelps on 13 minutes and three minutes later, Sheldon netted a belter of a free-kick to double the hosts lead. A third goal ought to have come about when the Reds defence stood still again but a horrible miss spared their blushes. Sheldon wasn’t far away with another fierce drive from the edge of the box, but just as it looked like a mauling might be on the cards, Si Everall got on the end of Dean Twigg’s precise free-kick to power a header past Joe Hemmings. Two minutes later a cracking move down the left was switched inside and Hemmings pulled off a really smart stop to deny young Luke Walley a brilliant leveller.
In the second period Alport continued on the front foot and there was an amazing let off for Hanley with Hemmings somehow denying Ben Mills from point blank range before Twigg saw his follow up volley also miraculously kept out. With 16 minutes to go though, Whitchurch grabbed a deserved equaliser when Mills got the faintest of touches to glance Liam Prince’s set piece in off a post.
For all the world it looked like there was only going to be one winner but Stair curled home a beauty from another dead ball routine to give Town the win. It might have ended very differently but for another outstanding save from Hemmings who did just enough to turn a Ryan Thomas header over the bar, but despite conceding late on, this was another really good work out for the Alport lads.
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