1874 Northwich vs Whitchurch Alport

Recap

1874 Northwich 1 v 0 Whitchurch Alport

25th April 2019

by Matt Waters

After a 4-game winless run, 1874 managed to get over the line and secure a 1-0 victory against the side from Shropshire at the 4th time of attempting to fulfil the fixture at the St LukesBarton Stadium.

With this being the 3rd scheduled game out of 4 to be played this week, 1874 still named a strong starting 11 as the green and blacks were searching for only their second league win this month after beating Barnoldswick Town by 2 goals to nil.

The game as a whole once again had a strong feel of a typical end of season tie with nothing but pride at stake for either sidein what should be a good-natured tie. However, this feeling was marred by 2 serious incidents which saw 3 red cards given by the referee.

2 of these cards came just before the 15-minute mark as Mark Jones (1874) and Darren Campion (Alport) were caught grappling off the ball which resulted in altercations from both sets of players and some unsavoury scenes. However, the referee deemed Mark Jones and Darren Campion to be the only players worthy of cards and they both saw red, with many players lucky to escape bookings in a game that lacked chances up to this point.

The rest of the half continued in the same fashion as it started with 1874 dominating position but failing to create any clear-cut chances to break through the resilient Whitchurch defence who were now a man down. However just before half time 1874 broke the deadlock as a floated ball from Matty Russell on the left-hand side found right winger Mike Koral at the back post who’s half volley from just outside of the 6-yardbox nestled into the bottom corner to give the greens the lead at the break.

After the restart the half began slowly with once again 1874 controlling the game and dominating possestion but struggling to find the final ball to get a clear shot on goal. However, Whitchurch were by no means out of the game and nearly drew level as Leon Ashman rose at the back post but his header after 56 minutes failed to trouble Tony Aghayere and 74 remained in front.

The introduction of creative midfielder Aaron Smith, 10 minutes from time, made sure 1874 held their lead and almost played a key role in doubling it as a through ball played into the feet of McGowan whose effort was saved at point blank range by David Parton. The chances didn’t stop there for 1874 as Matt Woolley’s sweetly struck effort from 25 yards out clipped the post and Taylor Kennerley couldn’t quite latch on to a Sam Hind cross which saw the ball run all the way and out of play.

However, a quiet second half with no real bad tackles was completely overshadowed. A reckless challenge in the 93rdminute saw Alport’s Dylan Bath see red after he flew into a challenge bringing down Taylor Kennerley in what looked a serious injury and the referee blew for full time before tempers flared once again.

Thankfully Taylor’s injury isn’t as serious as first thought although he is left with cuts and swelling. This result sees 1874 pick up our first win in 4 games in our penultimate game at St Lukes Barton Stadium.

1874-Aghayere, Hind, Russell (Connor 82), Lever, Jackson, Jones (RED 14), Woolley, Parker (Smith 82), Koral, McGowan, Kennerley. Subs not used, Ormrod, Phipps and Gardener

Whitchurch Alport- Parton, Minshall, Chilcott, Campion (RED 14), Ashman, Goddard, Pickerill, Bath (RED 93), Hughes, Walsh, Johns. Subs not used, Bridge and Street.

GOAL- 1874 Mike Koral, 40th Minute

ATTENDANCE: 195