East Cheshire Football League
Club AZ guarantee place in Cup semi-finals
By
Apr 6, 2008, 14:24

A Review Of The Trade Mark Collections East Cheshire League

By Matt Eagles

Week Twenty Nine– Plenty of goals this weekend as Boarhound and  Mary Dendy both scored seven and Puss in Boots and Club AZ hit four with AZ guaranteeing a cup semi-final berth with victory over Poynton.

League

Poynton Kingfisher   2          Boarhound     7

 A crushing win for the visitors as they overwhelmed Kingfisher in the first half scoring five times without reply. This represented a complete change of fortune for both teams as Kingfisher had enjoyed a comfortable victory against Old Alts last weekend  and Boarhound had endured a tough time against Puss In Boots. Amongst the goals for Boarhound were Sean Gill with two, Andy Foote with a spectacular 20 yard strike, Craig Hulme, Ian Potts, Gareth Hughes and Jamie Collins with his sixth in the league this season. Luke Murray struck twice for Kingfisher in a more competitive second but it really was too little too late.  No change in league positions for either team but this win sees Boarhound close in on Juno in fifth place.

Subsidiary Cup- Group A

Club AZ  4     Poynton    3

Club AZ secured a place in the Subsidiary Cup semi-finals after an exciting encounter against fast improving Poynton at the Mulberry Sports Centre. With the sides locked together at 2-2 at the beginning of the second half , AZ got their noses in front scoring twice to give themselves some breathing space. Despite pulling one goal back Poynton just couldn’t get back on level terms and now have to rely on AZ doing them a favour by beating Poynton Kingfisher in their final group game. Ben Davenport led the scoring with two, with top scorer Lee Manion with an excellent solo effort and Paul Bethal also on the score sheet. Poynton’s goals came from two of their recent signings, John Cairns with a brace and the influential Scott Bajic with his fifth of the campaign..

Subsidiary Cup- Group B

Mary Dendy   7    Juno    2

With both league games ending in draws, Mary Dendy were determined to go one better and take al three points against the team from Cheadle Hulme.

Three goals in a opening twenty minute spell for the home side laid the foundations for a strong finish but it wasn’t before Robbie Swanson’s double gave them a fright , bringing the score back to 3-2 at the interval.

Simon Lee had given Dendy the lead with a header before Will Tolley made it 2-0, holding off a defender to hook the ball home.. A precision chip by Mark Parker made it 3-0.

Dendy’s manager Tony White’s tactic of playing leading goalscorer Matty Morris on his own up front whilst packing five in midfield began to pay  dividends in the second half as they dominated the game with Morris turning provider for three of the goals. Will Tolley grabbed his second, as did Mark Parker whilst skipper Andy Currie made it 6-2 and Mark Corr put the icing on the cake with number seven.

Old Alts Vets  1   Puss In Boots   4

The two strongest sides in the ECL met at Crossford Bridge in a what traditionally has been a tight fixture with goals difficult to come by, but it was Puss In Boots who came out on top, thanks to three goals in an opening half hour in which they took the game to their hosts. Lee McIntyre opened the scoring on ten minutes dummying the keeper and passing the ball into an unguarded net for his twentieth goal of the season. Then two goals in two minutes midway through the half  gave the vistors a three goal cushion. Wayne Riley hitting his third of the season  and Simon Gibbons heading home from six yards after unselfish  work by McIntyre. Puss in Boots then seemed to drop their intensity and  Rory Fallon’s pace and trickery down the wing caused them real problems – unfortunately for the Vets  it seemed to be the final ball that let them down as the finish didn’t quite match the excellent approach play.  Tony Dawson did manage to pull a goal back five minutes into the second half capitalising on a sluggish start by the Puss, but this only seemed to spark them into life and with half an hour remaining Simon Gibbons hit his second to secure the points. Credit must go to stand in referee Dave Stephens, who took charge at the last minute and let both teams play football.