Cheadle Town 3-3 Eccleshall

For the second time in the space of a week, commanding a 3-1 lead at the 83rd minute in this fixture wasn't enough to win the match.

It was Eccleshall on this occasion that provided the comeback, somewhat healing the wounds we opened when we staged a similar escape act at Pershall Park last week.

First blood went to us this time around, netting after just six minutes after a neat move in and around the edge of the area set Mike Sherrington free to comfortably roll home from close range.

Callum Collinson then had a free-kick tipped over the bar before Rick Whyatt was a matter of inches away from connecting to a ball in from the right.

On the half-hour Eccleshall slowly started to get themselves a foothold in the match and were level on the 36th minute.

A deflected shot had gone wide and from the resulting corner, Eccleshall's Wakefield stooped low from close range to bullet home a header.

The visitors' tails were up and it then took a superb last-minute challenge from Joe Nield to prevent them taking the lead just two minutes later.

We started the second half brightly - Jake Ambrose somehow failing to convert from close range after Rick Whyatt had drilled the ball into the box - but then faded badly, allowing Eccleshall two free headers in quick succession which they thankfully failed to convert.

Chris Sherrington was brought on as part of a double substitution on the hour mark and it was his somewhat fortunate goal on the 66th minute that kick-started us back to life; whether he meant his cross from the left to actually sail in over the keeper's head is up for debate!

Both Whyatt and Cotton failed to get onto the end of a teasing Joe Nield cross before Rick's looping header on 70 minutes was cleared just in time.

With ten minutes of the match remaining, we extended our lead.

Some superb work by James Dunn on the right saw him thread a ball through for Rick Whyatt who checked, turned inside and unleashed a vicious drive down low to the keeper's left.

Three minutes later and Eccleshall were back in the match. A free-kick from just outside the area bobbled awkwardly in front of Danny Whiting as he was going down to gather it, rebounding back into the air just at the right height for an alert Thomas Wakefield to nod home.

On 87 minutes a great combination between Whyatt and Cotton saw the latter in on the left but his fierce shot was beaten out by the keeper.

With stoppage time coming to an end, Eccleshll rolled their final dice and came up with a six.

A long throw-in from inside our area was knocked on for Daniel Needham to latch onto just outside the area. With an oncoming Danny Whiting to close the angle, the "knock it over him" option was the only one he had if he was going to score. Unfortunately for us he kept a cool enough head to do just that and ensure that, with what was the last kick of the match, Eccleshall went back down the M6 with a point tucked under their arms.

We're back on the road this Thursday evening as we travel to Bacup Borough.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, McLaughlin, Delaney (Shaw), Dunn, Harrison, M Sherrington (Cotton), Wood, Ambrose, Whyatt, Collinson (C Sherrington). SUBS: Cotton, C Sherrington, Shaw, Piggott (gk)

Daisy Hill 1-0 Cheadle Town

<sigh>

All of the air pumped into the balloon from Wednesday evening's fantastic comeback at Eccleshall popped in the blink of an eye. One step forward, two steps back.

After a half-decent start we faded badly and never really recovered to get ourselves going again. Mis-placed passes, wrong choices and a general failure to keep hold of the ball amounted to a dolly mixture of frustration.

Whether Daisy Hill's penalty, midway through the first half, was a penalty was debated hard and long at the time, but even Danny Whiting's superb save ended up being in vain as the rebound was popped into the unguarded net. It was definitely that kind of a day.

Danny Whiting gets down to save the penalty....

The returning Mike Sherrington had the first chance, firing over after his brother Chris had directed a Liam Delaney pass into his path with Chris then almost connecting with a Tom Ratican cross, only to see a Daisy defender nipping in just in time.

Danny Whiting then made his first significant save of the day on 15 minutes before the hosts should have been 1-0 up shortly afterwards, firing over from the edge of the area with the goal at their mercy.

Joe Nield then brought an excellent save from the Daisy keeper after his fierce drive looked to be heading for the top corner before a great solo run brought about Daisy's penalty that might not have been a penalty.

Danny Wood

We responded straight away.

Chris Sherrington latched onto a loose ball in the area to bring out a great save before Sherrington (Michael version) was clean through on a lofted ball only for he to be denied by the keeper too.

Two super stops from Danny Whiting bookended the periods just before and just after half time, the second an impressive effort to tip over a looping header.

"Over there...."

The only significant efforts we had in the second half were round about the hour mark.

A nice combination of Dunn and Chris Sherrington gave substitute Danny Jones a chance but he lashed his effort wide before a James Dunn cross from the right was blasted wide by Joe Shaw.

To cap the day off there were chaotic scenes after the final whistle which resulted in two red cards for Daisy Hill players and a sore chin for Joe Nield. Work the rest out for yourselves.

Mssrs Harrison, Nield and Shaw

We're back in action again tonight [Monday] when Eccleshall visit Park Road. Time to pick up the pieces from this horror show and get back on track.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, McLaughlin, Delaney (Dunn), Shaw, Harrison, Ratican, Russell, M Sherrington, Wood (Jones), C Sherrington (Farrow). SUBS: Jones, Dunn, Farrow, Piggott (gk).

Eccleshall 3-4 Cheadle Town

Putting the manner of the victory to one side for a moment, my goodness me did we need that win.

We travelled to Staffordshire on the back of seven league matches without a victory and had got ourselves into a bit of a funk.

History dictated that this was the perfect opportunity to break that bad run. On each of our previous six visits to Pershall Park we had come away with all three points and last season's 32nd league match of the season just happened to be one of those said victories.

We did make it seven consecutive wins at Eccleshall but in the most astonishing manner possible.

Astonishing because at the 83rd minute we were 1-3 down and looking fairly hopeless, having had a raft of chances but conversely being sloppy enough to have presented Eccleshall with three [successful] opportunities to score.

Rick Whyatt got us going after just 3 minutes, latching onto Chris Sherrington's head-back only to fire straight at the keeper before Chris himself burst down the left but unluckily saw his cross cut out with Mssrs Whyatt and Cotton lurking at the back post for what would have been an easy finish.

And more...and the match was barely 15 minutes old.

Luke Cotton headed over a Whyatt cross from close range with us then failing to bundle home a Chris Sherrington corner that caused all sorts of chaos in the Eccleshall box.

Joe Nield was through on the right but perhaps hesitated too long thus allowing an Eccleshall defender to nip in before Liam Delaney then sent a vicious dipping shot just over the bar.

On the half-hour, the sucker punch.

Eccleshall's no 11 Daniel Needham was sent scampering down the right with only Joe Shaw for company. He managed to cut inside and send a precise angled drive past Danny Whiting to give the home side a surprise lead.

We were rocked a bit as Eccleshall then almost went 2-0 up shortly afterwards; Danny Whiting palming away a fierce drive after we had surrendered possession in the final third of the pitch.

The first half ended with Luke Cotton heading a Chris Sherrington free kick over the bar and Rick Whyatt blazing over from close range.

We continued the second half as we had left the first.

Just two minutes into the restart Liam Delaney was in space when he met a Chris Sherrington free kick but somehow managed to shin it over the bar with Luke Cotton sending a looping header onto the crossbar on the 51st minute.

Rick Whyatt then drove one in from range on 56 minutes only to have it tipped round the post with Danny Whiting then kept busy straight down the other end, timing his surge out of his area to perfection to thwart a dangerous-looking counter-attack.

On the hour, another sucker punch.

From our own goal kick we managed to lose possession in midfield. Eccleshall shifted the ball to Louis Downs on the edge of the area for him to drill home off the inside of the post.

We delivered a response almost immediately.

Straight from the restart a Chris Sherrington cross from the left was met by a rising Jake Ambrose to nod home and get us back into the match.

Perfect. Our tails were back up again. Could we go on?

After two wild swings at the ball in our own area that thankfully didn't result in anything we went up the other end and should have equalised when Liam Delaney got onto the end of a Chris Sherrington corner but completely misjudged his effort, sending it harmlessly wide.

Our momentum was checked once more in the 71st minute when Eccleshall regained their two-goal advantage; Louis Downs again, this time with a well-placed free-kick from the edge of the area straight into the top corner.

Again, we were rocked a bit and perhaps could have gone further behind as some calamitous defending allowed Eccleshall to nip in behind us; thankfully they stabbed a good chance wide.

With just 15 minutes of the match remaining Tom Ratican had come on and had stung the palms of the Eccleshall keeper, forcing him to parry it straight to Jake Ambrose who buried the loose ball into the roof of the net. Alas, he was flagged offside and you wondered whether this was going to be our night at all.

In the space of five crazy minutes, it was.

83 minutes. Another of the substitutes, Tom Russell, floats in a lovely ball from the right which is perfect for Tom Ratican to thump home a header. We're back in it again, and with time to perhaps snatch a draw.

86 minutes. Another cross from the right but this time not hit with as much venom. It rolls casually into the Eccleshall penalty area and is left by everybody in one of those "after you, Claude" moments. Jake Ambrose steals in and manages to poke it under the body of the keeper. We're level and you know what, the momentum is with us and there's enough time to get a winner.

88 minutes. Danny Wood lofts a diagonal ball into a crowded penalty area. Jake Ambrose traps it brilliantly with all manner of other bodies and limbs surrounding him and keeps his head to calmly stab it home from close range. Absolute delirium.

In the blink of a footballing eye we have gone from despair to utter joy. Moments like that have been all too rare this season and it was good to see that we can go on to win a match having conceded first; this was only the second time that we have done so this season.

Eccleshall come to us next Monday evening. Beware the wounded animal, Cheadle. They will be hurting.

Next up for us? It's mid-April so therefore it must be Daisy Hill away. Oh yes, so it is....

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, McLaughlin, Delaney (Russell), Shaw (Ratican), Harrison, Ambrose, Wood, Cotton (Collinson), Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Russell, Ratican, Collinson, Piggott (gk)

Cheadle Town 2-2 Silsden

In contrast to the lack of endeavour in the second half at Abbey Hulton the other night, we got it in spades this time thus earning a well-deserved point against one of the two teams that will surely be playing Premier Division football next season.

We restricted the league leaders to very little in the second half thus allowing ourselves to claw back a two-goal disadvantage.

It took until the 67th minute for our improved performance to bite. Joe Nield - who had a superb match at right-back - put in a delicious, hanging cross right onto the path of an unmarked Rick Whyatt to plunge an unstoppable header past the Silsden keeper.

That one marked goal number 20 for Mr Whyatt in all competitions this season.

A double-substitution shortly afterwards saw Luke Farrow enter the fray, and it was he who got our equaliser with nine minutes remaining.

A ranging, diagonal ball over to the left tempted the Silsden keeper out of his area to come and collect it but he wasn't as equal to the ball as Luke who stole in and planted it home.

With injury time looming we almost nicked all three points as Callum Collinson hooked just wide following a free-kick but the point was just reward for the second-half performance, thank you very much.

The first half was mainly Silsden's as they raced to that two-goal lead within the first half hour.

After just three minutes - we have developed a really bad habit of conceding early - a ball through the middle was collected by Aidan Kirby who saw Danny Whiting coming off his line and coolly lobbed him.

Danny then had to perform two key blocks with barely ten minutes on the clock before John McLaughlin was desperately unlucky when his snap-shot from the edge of the area struck the foot of the post with the Silsden keeper rooted.

Luke Cotton was then put through on the right on 11 minutes but scuffed his shot wide before Silsden's Barnes rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort.

On the half-hour the visitors got their second goal after we failed to clear a corner in from the left, allowing Reece Kendall to eventually nod it home from close range.

Weather permitting we have another home match tomorrow evening [Wednesday 4th April] and then, thankfully, a weekend off before a really grueling end of season run-in.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, McLaughlin, Holt (Plumb), Shaw, Harrison, Dunn, Wood, Cotton (Collinson), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Farrow). SUBS: Collinson, Plumb, Farrow, Piggott (gk).

Litherland REMYCA 2-0 Cheadle Town

I'm never too far away from a footballing cliche on here, I admit, but you're just going to have to bear with me once again I'm afraid.

This week's maxim: the 0-2 scoreline didn't really tell the true story.

We created enough chances - whether they were half- or decent - to have got something out of this match.

As early as the third minute Tom Ratican scampered down the left to put in a lovely cross for James Dunn at the far post but he just wasn't long-legged enough to make contact.

Unfortunately the next passage of play saw the hosts go a goal up with their first decent effort on goal.

Possession was carelessly lost in midfield, allowing REMYCA to feed their no11 Alex Ryan down the left who bore down on goal and finished from a tight angle.

On the 15th minute the Ratican-Dunn combination was tried again. This time James managed to get his head to it, forcing a good save from the REMYCA keeper who could only parry it into the path of Luke Cotton...who somehow couldn't get full-purchase on his shot to force it home.

Back down the other end Mr Ratican was on-hand to clear a dangerous ball just in time before Danny Whiting got his body in the way of their no7's effort as he found himself clear following a free-kick.

On the 22nd minute we had another great chance to pull level. Another one of Tom Ratican's deep balls into the box was latched upon by Luke Cotton but he blasted his effort off the underside of the crossbar. The ball was then loose and Rick Whyatt tried to dive-head it home but that was blocked.

Straight down the other end REMYCA's Quirk clipped a neat ball through into the box but the resulting shot was flashed wide with James Dunn then unable to react quick enough to a Chris Sherrington free-kick, seeing the ball hit his feet and sail over.

After the break Danny Whiting had to tip over a Colin Quirk trademark long-ranger over the bar with us then having a handful of chances to draw level once more.

On 51 minutes Danny Wood found himself in a good position on the edge of the area with a clear shot on goal but perhaps hesitated too much in waiting for the ball to sit for him with the REMYCA keeper then making a complete hash of a clearance four minutes later; fortunately for him he was quick enough to react and thus deny Mssrs Cotton and Whyatt what would have been a tap-in.

On 59 minutes Callum Collinson's cross from the right found Rick Whyatt in space but he completely mis-timed his shot with Tom Russell then bursting down the right only to drive over the bar.

REMYCA then had a decent spell with a couple of chances from set pieces.

On 69 minutes they headed a corner ball onto the post with a completely free header being nodded wide on 75 minutes.

Callum Collinson then had a chance from the edge of the box after the keeper had clawed a Tom Russell free-kick into his path with REMYCA then edging ahead further on 83 minutes: a free-kick of their own being met with a header that struck the post with the loose ball hooked home into the top corner by Jason McShane.

A fairly decent match was then ruined by a needless sending off [Tom Russell for us] for both sides as injury time approached; both parties guilty of nothing more than a bit of pushing and shoving.

We're in action again tomorrow evening [Tuesday] as we travel to Abbey Hulton United.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Russell, Shaw, Harrison, Dunn (Collinson), Wood, Cotton (Ambrose), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Holt). SUBS: Collinson, Ambrose, Holt, Piggott (gk).

Board Vacancy

The Board of Directors' key purpose is to ensure the club’s prosperity by collectively directing the club's affairs, whilst meeting the appropriate interests of its members and stakeholders.

Do you have a passion for Non-League Football? Could you add significant value to build the club? We would love to hear from you. If you would like to express your interest in this position, please send a covering letter along with your CV. Your CV will be considered by the Board and a response will be sent to you in writing.

Cheadle Town Football Club are a football club based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester. They were established in 1961 and joined the North West Counties Football League in 1983. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Division One.

This is a voluntary position; time commitments would be to meet monthly for up to 2 hours, contribute advice and support on an ad hoc basis and attendance at official club events would be required.

Please send your CV and covering letter to jo.taylor@littlesportscoaching.co.uk

Cheadle Town 2-2 AFC Blackpool

The worst of starts; (almost) the best of endings.

Seven minutes in and you'd be forgiven for thinking that we'd got this all terribly wrong. Two goals down and looking very rocky, giving away possession cheaply and in dangerous areas.

Blackpool's two goals came in quick succession on the 5th and 7th minutes. For the first one, possession was lost in midfield with their no8 - Ben Fishwick - roaming forward and unleashing a rising shot from 20 yards out that beat Danny Whiting.

Two minutes later an errant leg in the penalty box from Joe Nield gave Blackpool the chance to extend their lead from the spot, a chance that Duffield took.

And oddly enough that was pretty much it in terms of clear-cut chances from either side until much later on in the half. As already alluded to we weren't up to much, mis-placing passes and generally "not getting going".

Our first shot on target didn't come until the stroke of half-time but it was one that gave us a key foothold in the game for two reasons....

Firstly, it resulted in AFC Blackpool going down to ten men as their defender superbly blocked a Luke Cotton effort on the line with his hand and secondly, as you can probably guess, the resulting penalty was coolly stroked home; Liam Delaney doing the honours in what is turning out to be a rare month for him.

The entire second half didn't deviate from one set pattern: Cheadle trying to lay siege to the AFC Blackpool goal with the latter attempting to nick an extra goal on the break.

Callum Collinson called the keeper into action early doors as his awkward swinging cross from the right had to be tipped over the bar and then Rick Whyatt was in on goal from close range on 55 minutes and looked set to poke home but was denied by an excellent block by the keeper.

The AFC Blackpool rearguard finally caved in on 76 minutes with Rick bagging his 19th of the season, latching onto Callum Collinson's perfectly-squared ball to guide it home from close range.

A minute later Callum's teasing cross from the right looked set to be converted by the onrushing Whyatt or Sherrington but somehow neither of them made the final, telling touch.

With two minutes to go a free-kick from the left was met at the far post by Jake Ambrose who perhaps didn't quite get enough purchase on his header, allowing the keeper to make a vital save and push it onto the post.

That turned out to be the last chance of the match but not the last piece of the story as there was still time for AFC Blackpool to have another man sent off for a dangerous challenge on Tom Russell.

So, match that started off with us "taking the draw if you were offering it" and ending with us being disappointed with said draw. Just goes to show a lot can happen in 90 minutes.

Next up is a tricky-looking trip to promotion-chasing Litherland REMYCA this Saturday as the gruelling run-in starts. Hold on to your hats.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Dunn, Delaney (Russell), Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Wood, Cotton (Ambrose), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Farrow). SUBS: Russell, Ambrose, Farrow, Piggott (gk)

Cheadle Town 1-1 Northwich Victoria (lost 3-4 on penalties)

The ultimate in heartbreaking ways to lose a cup tie...but what else can you do when it's a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes?

If this was a league match then both sides would have been happy with the draw. Alas, this is the Macron League Cup and, with extra time not an option, the lottery from 12 yards kicked in.

Vics arguably had the better of the first half and could have gone into the break holding a lead.

They forced Danny Whiting into a very good stop as early as the 3rd minute and he was there again at the near post on 18 minutes to block an effort after their no10 had cut inside from the right.

They had another excellent chance on the 25th minute when their no9 received a square pass inside and was completely unmarked with only Danny Whiting to beat; fortunately for us he took far too long deciding what to do and could only spoon his shot over the bar.

Apart from Joe Shaw heading a Liam Delaney free kick just wide that was pretty much it in terms of action in the first half. A howling, swirling wind was playing havoc - carrying through balls, holding up passes, blowing throw-ins out of touch - and ruining any chances of any flow in the game.

Danny Whiting was on-hand to claw the ball from underneath his crossbar after said wind had caught hold of a lofted Vics free-kick early in the second half with James Dunn's wild lash over the bar the only next significant piece of action a good bit later.

On the 68th minute the game suddenly came to life.

Rick Whyatt gathered the ball in midfield and pressed forward, evading challenges on his way before drilling home from the edge of the area to give us the lead.

It didn't last long.

A minute later a long throw-in was only cleared as far as the edge of the area where Vics' Oliver Walker was waiting to rifle home.

Pushing for the winner we had the better chances in the closing stages of the match.

On the 78th minute a lovely move ended with Rick Whyatt shooting wide when in a good posotion with a neat combination between Mssrs Collinson and Cotton resulting in the latter cracking a well-placed shot off the crossbar.

In stoppage time a short corner to Joe Nield was clipped over to the far post for a waiting Joe Shaw but he hacked his effort wide, sending our hopes of nicking this cup tie with it and us facing the prospect of a penalty shoot-out.

Our woeful record in shoot-outs was to continue as Vics ran out 4-3 winners in the lottery and booked themselves a place in the quarter-finals. This is how the shoot-out went:

0-1: Northwich Victoria score
1-1: Cheadle score, Liam Delaney
1-2: Northwich Victoria score
2-2: Cheadle score, Joe Nield
2-3: Northwich Victoria score
2-3: Cheadle miss, Callum Collinson hits the crossbar
2-3: Northwich Victoria miss, penalty blazed over the bar
3-3: Cheadle score, Rick Whyatt
3-4: Northwich Victoria score
3-4: Cheadle miss, Robert Brocklehurst's penalty is saved

No rest for the wicked. We make the long trip up to Holker Old Boys this Saturday....

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Dunn (Ambrose), Wood (Brocklehurst), Cotton, Whyatt, C Sherrington (Collinson). SUBS: Ambrose, Allcock (gk), Collinson, Farrow, Brocklehurst.

Cheadle Town 4-1 Bacup Borough

Whyatt, Ratican, Whyatt, Ratican.

If, like me, you have a slight case of OCD then that lovely little symmetrical sequence will push your button in a kind of way.

That's how the scoring pattern panned out last night as we comfortably saw off Bacup Borough. All four goals were wonderfully taken and whilst we are right to heap praise on our goalscoring duo, the support act wasn't bad either.

Whatever Liam Delaney had for his dinner last night worked wonders as he was spraying passes around for fun in the first half and Mssrs Nield and Dunn had excellent shifts on our flanks.

Luke Cotton - desperately unlucky not to have scored, it has to be said - was the first to show as he raced clear with just a minute gone only for the Bacup keeper to get a vital touch to his shot and deflect it wide of the post.

On the 11th minute we took the lead. A delicious cross from the right by Liam Delaney found the head of Rick Whyatt in the area who thumped a header off the underside of the crossbar with the keeper rooted to his spot.

On 21 minutes Bacup had a chance to equalise but Danny Whiting made an excellent stop to deny their no10 after he had sprinted clear on the right.

Just two minutes later a Joe Nield shot deflected straight into the path of Luke Cotton but he was to be denied once again as his effort was nicked wide.

On the half-hour mark, a case of deja-vu.

Tom Ratican was sent clear down the left but, perhaps with too much time to think, planted his effort harmlessly into the keeper's midriff. Just in case you had missed that by gazing up at the passing aircraft he was put in exactly the same position again 30 seconds later.

There was a different outcome this time as he nudged the ball past the onrushing keeper with a lovely delicate flick of his right foot to give us a 2-0 lead.

Just before half-time Liam Delaney sent in a piledriver from 30 yards out that forced a great save by the keeper before an equally impressive shot gave us a 3-0 lead moments later.

Latching onto a lofted through ball, Rick Whyatt tussled with a Bacup defender and seemed to have lost control of it thanks to an unfortunate ricochet; in the blink of an eye he then unleashed a vicious, dipping 20-yarder that sailed in under the crossbar.

It took a matter of seconds after half-time for us to carry on where we left off and if Luke Cotton needed any indication that this wasn't going to be his night then his header that hit the crossbar with the goal gaping should have been enough.

Bacup, who surely must have been on the end of an ear-bending from manager Brent Peters, came out much brighter in the second half and forced Danny Whiting into holding a fierce drive on 47 minutes.

They then side-footed wide when in a good position following some good work down the left with Rick Whyatt firing just over on the hour mark and a Chris Sherrington drilled cross having nobody to touch it home.

With 70 minutes gone we sealed the deal for sure following a lovely move that was started in midfield by Liam Delaney and ended by Tom Ratican advancing on goal and sliding home for his second of the night.

And that was pretty much that where chances were concerned, bar Bacup's consolation on 82 minutes when Bryan stormed through on the right and stabbed home.

That was only our third league win at home all season but, with a lot more home matches yet to come, repeat performances like this one will ensure that particular tally is improved upon before the season is out.

Next up is a tricky away-day at an in-form Cammell Laird this Saturday.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Dunn, Wood (Fleming), Cotton (Farrow), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Collinson). SUBS: Collinson, Fleming, Farrow, Allcock (gk).

Buildbase Club Renovation Programme 2018

Cheadle Town FC have been shortlisted as one of the clubs who are in with a chance of receiving a bursary as part of the Buildbase Club Renovation Programme for 2018.

Ourselves and five other non-league clubs will now “play off” against each other for a 50/50 share of the 2018 £100k product bursary for club improvements.

The six teams – playing in either The Buildbase FA Trophy or The Buildbase FA Vase competitions – will now pitch their plans to a panel of judges at Wembley Stadium on 29th March.

Two winning teams will each walk away with a £50,000 product bursary which includes building, electrical and hire products for their local club facilities.

The clubs selected as finalists by Buildbase and The FA, chosen from a total of 57 applications from around the country are ourselves, Dunkirk and Leicester Road from The Buildbase FA Vase and Lincoln United, Ashford United and Needham Market from The Buildbase FA Trophy.

For the application process, each of the clubs outlined their proposed renovation plans if successful in the competition which include clubhouse extensions, pitch improvements, creating facilities for disabled people and installing new fencing.

We were pipped to the post by Cleethorpes Town last season so it is second time lucky for us.

Wish us luck!

Sandbach United 4-1 Cheadle Town

Damn you, half-time.

There we were, taking good care of ourselves, level at 1-1 and enjoying the lion's share of the ball when you had to come along and completely disrupt our momentum, so much so that our second half performance was as woeful as it gets thus allowing our opponents to run away with the match.

We started the first half terribly, allowing Sandbach's Jordan Davies to poke home under Whiting's body from the edge of the area after just two minutes but then got a real foothold, going so far as to earn ourselves a penalty just four minutes later.

Not for the first time this season the ultimate golden opportunity from twelve yards wasn't converted but you can't really blame Chris Sherrington; he drilled hard and low down to the corner but was thwarted by an excellent stop from the keeper.

Unperturbed we drove on. Rick Whyatt netted on 17 minutes after a clever knock-down by Luke Cotton but it was given as offside before Luke himself would draw us level ten minutes later, lashing home after a Pearson free-kick from the right had deflected into his path.

Two minutes later a superb cross-field pass from Liam Delaney found Callum Collinson on the right whose cross was narrowly clipped over by the onrushing Rick Whyatt before Rick got his head onto another cross just before half-time, heading just over this time around.

In the second half Sandbach really started to trouble us down their own right-hand side.

Danny Whiting had to palm away a whipped cross just three minutes into the restart with him then making a world-class stop to tip over a fierce drive from the edge of the area on the 55th minute.

On the hour mark Sandbach hit the post after cutting in from the right and leaving Whiting rooted to the spot with the shot with them then taking the lead just a minute later.

Sandbach's Jordan Davies went down the right and evaded a number of challenges, leaving him free to square the ball where Luke Walley was waiting for an easy tap-in.

With 75 minutes gone Sandbach got a penalty of their own which James Kirby slotted home.

Danny Whiting then had to beat away another drive from the right before a carbon-copy of Sandbach's second goal - same scorer and all - put the tie well-and-truly out of reach on 80 minutes.

Annoyingly we don't have a match this weekend to put things right. We'll just have to wait for the visit of Eccleshall next Wednesday evening. Rain, rain, stay away....

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Pearson, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Wood, Cotton, Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Gardiner, Ambrose, Dunn, Ratican, Allcock (gk).

Alsager Town 1-4 Cheadle Town

From the ridiculous to the sublime.

With some players missing - one of which our leading goalscorer - and facing a trip to a difficult Alsager Town outfit those of a gambling persuasion may have been tempted to put their collective mortgages on yet another defeat.

Alas, in keeping with our half-decent away record this season - that's now a massive 70% of our league points amassed away from Park Road - we put in a measured performance and ran away comfortable, and deserved, winners.

This was a passion play with many acts where the passion from certain elements was misguided at times. More of that later.

Act One: Danny Whiting, He Of Safe Hand

It's fair to say that Danny Whiting had a very busy opening half hour, keeping us within reach of the match with some quality stops.

The start was a tad ring-rusty, mind, as confusion betwixt him and Joe Shaw with only three minutes gone almost let an Alsager forward through but thankfully he lobbed his effort over the bar.

Joe Shaw had to get a great last-ditch tackle in a few minutes later but it was on the turning of the 20th minute that Danny Whiting was repeatedly called into action.

He made a superb one-handed stop to deny their no11 and then did very well to alter his direction to block a deflected effort moments later.

He then palmed away a close-range header from a corner and was glad to see the loose ball blazed over his bar from a yard out, before managing to claw a well-struck free-kick around the post.

Act Two: The Turning Of The Screw

In amongst Alsager's attempts to keep Danny Whiting warm, we had our own little moments that suggested that we weren't going to be left out-of-sight in this match.

Luke Cotton, leading the front in the absence of Rick Whyatt, got his head onto an arrowed cross from Joe Nield on 12 minutes, sending his looping effort just over the bar. He got his head to another cross - a searching one from Luke Pearson this time - to force a great save from the Alsager keeper.

Five minutes before half-time we got the breakthrough.

Some great hold-up play by Jake Ambrose on the edge of the area was rewarded as he laid it off for an onrushing Callum Collinson to drive home from around 20 yards out.

Would the half-time break disrupt our momentum?

No. Just one minute into the restart Jake Ambrose was in on the right but saw his effort blocked.

Sixty seconds later and he would be in again, collecting the ball on the edge of the area from a free-kick, turning neatly, and finishing from inside the box.

Add another sixty seconds. We are awarded a penalty for which Luke Pearson steps up, only for him to plant it over the bar.

This gives Alsager a little bit of hope and they go on to have a decent spell around the hour mark. Danny Whiting has to come out to bravely gather the ball at a player's feet, Alsager actually net but it is given offside and Whiting is on-hand again, pushing a curling effort around the post.

But then on 72 minutes we re-seize the initiative.

Luke Cotton managed to round the keeper (after he had made a poor kick) but pushed the ball a little too wide for him to make anything of it before the next phase of play saw us take a 3-0 lead; Chris Sherrington's cross-shot from the left evading everybody and finding its way to the corner of the net. I had initially given Luke Cotton the goal on Twitter as I thought he got a touch to it but alas not. Sorry Luke.

On 82 minutes Chris Sherrington netted again but with a more deliberate effort this time around. Callum Collinson's dinked cross from the right fell just at the height for him to unleash an unstoppable drive from the left.

Act Three: Minds Lost

We don't usually call out referees on here as they have a difficult enough job as it is but we are absolutely baffled by the decision he made - or didn't make - on the 90th minute mark following what appeared, and most certainly sounded, like an elbow/arm to Joe Nield's face.

What we thought would be the inevitable red card turned out to be a yellow, for both the accused and Joe Nield.

And then there was ex-Cheadle midfielder Matt German, whose tightly-coiled temperament was slowly starting to unravel. Our coaching staff's genuine attempts to calm him down were only met with shoves. We can only hope that the headed goal he got as consolation six minutes into injury time served as some sort of comfort.

Perhaps it was a good job that certain elements of Alsager's home "support" had drifted away by then because I'm not sure their close proximity to all of this would have helped.

At 0-2 down and facing a defeat their calls for their own players to, and we quote, "break the legs of" and "end the season of" Cheadle players could be heard loud and clear by myself and other members of the visiting Cheadle committee. An attitude like that isn't "football support" and those individuals are a disgrace and a tarnish on Alsager Town FC.

Anyhow. Our thanks to the good folk at Alsager Town - of which there are plenty - for their hospitality.

For us we look ahead to another home match this weekend as AFC Blackpool visit Park Road.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Pearson, Wood, Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Fleming (Delaney), Cotton (Ratican), Ambrose, C Sherrington. SUBS: Ratican, Delaney, Piggott (gk).