West Kirby and Vauxhall Motors Res progress to Semi-Final of CCFA Cup.

Only 2 games fell victim to the weather this week, one of these being the Cheshire Amateur Cup ¼ final between Upton AA and holders Heswall. The other ties brought victories for West Kirby, Vauxhall Motors Reserves and Cheshire Association League side Barnton. West Kirby went ahead in the 15th minute when Mike McGraa executed a neat turn before firing into the net but shortly before the break, opponents Cammell Laird Reserves leveled when Chris Hesketh followed up to score after a penalty had been saved. That was as good as it got for the league leaders with Andy Barker forcing the ball home for Kirby on the hour mark following a goalmouth scramble and minutes later McGraa headed in number 3. Chris Barrow completed a 4-1 scoreline for Kirby who will face Vauxhalls in the semi finals. The Motormen were involved in an entertaining encounter with visiting Newton, taking the lead courtesy of a long range Peter Banasko effort. Paul Foy struck a deserved equalizer for Newton only for Jason Renshaw to edge Vauxhalls ahead on the stroke of halftime. In the 65th minute Newton were reduced to 10 men and almost immediately fell further behind as Ian Burrows netted directly from a free kick. The hosts themselves had a player sent off but stretched their lead as Graeme Davidson expertly lobbed home from distance. Player manager Lee Kissock reduced the arrears from close range but his side bowed out on the back of a 4-2 reversal. Ashville’s visit to Barnton ended in the worst possible manner when they lost 6-5 on penalties. Earlier the hosts had taken a 1-0 interval lead which was wiped out by Jay Clare after the break. Barnton again went in front during extra time only for Tom Carroll to level matters and bring about the dreaded shootout.
Division 1 action saw clear cut victories in all 4 games with lowly Southport Trinity [James Doyle, o.g.] claiming 3 vital points by overcoming hosts Blacon YC, 2-0 but there was no such joy for basement boys Ellesmere Port who went down 3-0 at Chester Nomads [Paul Sweeney,2, Danny Hughes]. Adam Thelwell-Wilson netted twice and was joined on the scoresheet by Damien Coyle and Jack Ford as Christleton ran out 4-0 winners over Hale while Mossley Hill Athletic [Mike Yates, Ryan Powell, Yusuf Malik] eased to a 3-0 success against Marine Reserves.
There was shock in Division 2 where Mallaby fell to their 1st defeat of the season when losing by the odd goal in 5 at Prescot Cable Reserves. Ryan Pickles,2, and Lee Owens did the damage for Cables with Josh Taylor and John Hedges replying for Mallaby. Meanwhile South Liverpool maintained their own unbeaten tag thanks to a 4-0 win at Willaston. An own goal and a Gary Dunning strike inside 16 minutes set them on the victory path and although the hosts fought back well forcing a number of corners, they were unable to pierce a resolute defence. Willaston were reduced to 10 men early in the 2nd period and went on to concede further goals to Kevin Martin and Cameron Dalton. West Kirby Reserves[Steve Clark,2, Matty Boyd] leapfrogged opponents Marshalls [Matt Powell, Charlie Asinene] and pushed them into the relegation zone courtesy of their 3-2 success and table trailers Mersey Royal [Declan Iveson,2,] lost out by the same scoreline at Manor Athletic [Andy Kingham,2, Tom Mole].
There were surprise defeats for the top two in Division 3 with leaders Belfry[James Ranford, Tom Seddon] losing 3-2 at home to struggling Upton AA Res. [Simon Mapletoft,2, Nathan Freeman] while South Liverpool Res. [Ross Kennedy, pen, Sherif Yusuf] put a spoke in Redgate Rover’s [Steve Christian] promotion hopes courtesy of a 2-1 success. Gateacre [Kevin Dickenson, Kieran Owens, Martin Ho] kept their prospects alive when edging out Marshalls Res. [Ivan Jenkins, Andrew Iniabere] 3-2.
The Halton and West Cheshire Youth league brought huge wins for Bootle [7-0 v Beechwood Athletico] and Brookvale [9-0 v Western Point Juniors].