North West Counties Football League Division One South

Ellesmere Rangers 2

Cammell Laird 1907 2

A HEARTY performance from Ellesmere Rangers saw them come from 2-0 down to claim a point at home against Cammell Laird 1907 on Saturday.

Goals from Karl Bailey and Tawanda Melusi either side of the break proved to be vital as Rangers rescued a draw and move further away from the foot of the table.

The result means Ellesmere have now 23 points from 25 games, and keeps them out of the relegation zone.

It was a bad start to the afternoon for the Meresiders who fell behind in the opening 10 minutes of the game.

Despite starting the game well, Ellesmere were the first of the teams to concede after winger Ben Greenop cut inside and found the net with a cross-cum-shot effort.

A solid response from the Ellesmere men saw them trying hard for a goal throughout the whole first half.

However, it was again the visitors who were next on the scoreboard.

Joseph Donelly doubled his team’s lead on the stroke of half-time and looked to have scored the goal to send his side in at the break two goals ahead.

This was not to be the case though after Melusi latched onto a long hopeful pass and threaded the ball through for Bailey who showed his composure in front of goal by firing into the net to reduce the visitors’ advantage to just one goal.

After half-time, chances fell for Ellesmere with George Durrell and Melusi coming close.

Melusi was responsible for the goal that brought the game back level again in the 70th minute when he displayed some individual brilliance.

The forward stood over a free-kick near the 18-yard-box and fired an accurate strike into the bottom corner of the goal to restore parity in the match.

With their confidence high, Ellesmere went in search of a third goal which would have won them the game, but they were unable to do so.

The final whistle blew and the result leaves Rangers third from bottom of the table after 25 games.

A weekend without a match awaits Ellesmere, before they will prepare to take on Shelley in the Macron Cup quarter-finals.

North West Counties Football League Division One South

Stone Old Alleynians 0

FC Oswestry Town 1

A STEVE Evans goal in the first half was all it took to separate FC Oswestry Town and Stone Old Alleynians in a highly-anticipated contest between the sides sitting second and third in the league.

Evans’ effort secured the three points for Oswestry, giving them a tighter grip on second place. Solid defensive work from the visitors ensured they held onto an all-important clean sheet.

It was a tough first half for the Town players who were kicking against the wind on an afternoon when the conditions were not in their favour.

However, the weather did not affect Evans’ judgement late in the first half when he rushed to latch onto the end of Chris Seargeant’s cross and fired home to give Oswestry the lead.

A much quieter second half saw Mason Springthorpe produce some fine stops between the sticks for Town, as they picked up the three points to move closer to league leaders Vauxhall Motors.

Oswestry boss Nathan Leonard was very impressed with the effort shown by his players.

He said: “[It is] a superb win and gives us a little breathing space in second place now. The 11 lads today that played were tremendous we couldn’t have asked any more of them.

“[It was a] very difficult game with the conditions and Stone are third in the league for a reason – a good strong outfit, but overall I thought we deserved the three points.

“We defended well when called upon and looked very dangerous every time we went forward.

“The dressing room was bouncing after the game and togetherness is there for all to see, [we’re] looking forward to a tough month of games now.”

The result leaves Town close behind Vauxhall at the top, and gives them the opportunity to keep the pressure if they can pick up some positive results in their upcoming fixtures. Town will first turn their attention to their fixture on Saturday when they host Emley AFC in the Playermatch.com Cup quarter-finals.

They will then face Vauxhall away in the league on Saturday, February 15.

North West Counties Football League Division One South

St Martins 0

Wythenshawe Amateurs 3

THE thought of relegation will be creeping in for St Martins now as they remain rooted to the bottom of the North West Counties Football League Division One South table after their most recent defeat at home to Wythenshawe Amateurs.

Saints suffered their 18th league defeat of the season as Amateurs scored once before half-time, before bagging twice in the second half to put the game to bed.

The result leaves St Martins with 15 points from 25 games so far this campaign.

It was a nightmare start for the hosts when Quirino De Ayaide opened the scoring in the third minute, setting St Martins on the back foot immediately.

The goal seemed to encourage the home side to look for an equaliser quickly, but they were unable to find the net for the rest of the first half.

After the break, Amateurs pushed to extend their lead, but both sides were showing their defensive qualities by not giving their opponents any clear cut chances.

That was however until the 83rd minute when De Ayaide found himself some space and fired an effort in past George Austin to double his team’s advantage.

With very little time remaining, St Martins looked unlikely to find a way back into the game, but any little hope they had of remaining was dashed when Arthur Okonkwo added a third for Amateurs in the 90th minute.

The results leaves St Martins eight points from safety .

On Saturday, they travel to take on 19th-placed Barnton.

Welsh National League Premier Division

Chirk AAA 3

Mold Alexandra 4

A FAMILIAR face came back to haunt Chirk AAA as they were on the wrong end of the scoreline in a seven-goal thriller with Mold Alexandra.

Former Chirk player Louie Middlehurst bagged two goals to help the visitors to victory.

James Blackman’s goal and Ryan Leightwood’s double were not enough to give the Colliers the three points.

Chirk travel to face Llanuwchllyn FC away in the league on Saturday (kick-off 2pm).

North East Wales Football League Premier Division

Borras Park Albion 2

Chirk Town 1

AN AWAY game at Borras Park Albion proved to be a difficult afternoon for Chirk Town as they suffered just their second league loss of the season.

Goals from Jac Brimfield and Dan McGinnis helped the Borras men to their win, with Jordan Dooley’s second half effort for the Taverners only able to close the gap to just one goal.

A win would have seen Chirk take the top spot with a game in hand still to play.

The result means things are even tighter at the top of the table, with Town now just one point behind league leaders Brymbo Victoria with a game in hand still to play.

Chirk will be looking to return to winning ways as they look to continue their title push when they take on CPD Sychdyn away on Saturday with kick-off at 2pm.

Shropshire Premier League League Cup

Madeley Sports 2

Gobowen Celtic 1

GOBOWEN Celtic’s time in the Shropshire Premier League League Cup came to an end on Saturday after they suffered a loss away at Madeley Sports.

Celtic’s Jack Hughes got the only goal of the game for the visitors, with Madeley bagging twice to put their name in the hat for the next round of the cup.

The result comes as Gobowen prepare for a week without a fixture, before returning to face Brown Clee away on Saturday, February 15.