Cheadle Town 3 Biddulph Town 0
TWO goals from Alex Wood and a goal from Dan Rooksby gave Cheadle Town a comfortable 3-0 win against Biddulph Town at the Thorley Drive on Saturday.
Cheadle decided to play Alex Wood as the central striker, with Jake Alcock rested on the bench, as his departure to Norton FC in the North West Counties League seems to be on the cards after their recent approach.
Dan Rooksby took up a wider role up in support, with Rob Heath, Sam Gavin, Nat Pearson and Mark Hodson filling up the midfield. The back row of Matt Burnett, Andy Elks, David Cartlidge and Matt Nutt shored up the defence.
Cheadle got off to a good start with Alex Wood finding the back of the net with an early strike but the linesman ruled out the goal for hand ball as the striker was judged to have used his arm to assist his control.
Biddulph showed their intentions with a low drive that brought a top class save from Stuart Ford who dived down low to push the ball away from his goals.
Cheadle responded well and Biddulph went a goal down in the 15th minute. Sam Gavin sent Alex Wood clear with a well-flighted ball over the Biddulph defence, Alex Wood hit a fine volley on the run which flew over the keeper and into the roof of the net.
Cheadle went 2-0 up on the hour. Dan Rooksbym wide on the right, passed inside to Alex Wood, who took a touch to send the ball into the goal area and from an acute angle, he drove a fierce low shot that entered the far side of the net.
Two minutes later and it was game over, as Cheadle cruised into a 3-0 lead. This time, it was Alex Wood the provider and Dan Rooksby through the middle with a low drive that was too much for Alexander Graham to prevent entering the net from under his body as he dived in vain to save.
Mark Hodson and Nat Pearson combined well to send Alex Wood away in the 42nd minute but his shot was hurried and rose high over the bar.
The second half saw a perfectly weighted ball through the Biddulph defence to set up Alex Wood with a great chance to secure his hat-trick in the 50th minute. The Cheadle forward opted to place the ball to the right of the keeper but Graham pulled off a fine save.
Although further chances went begging, Cheadle looked comfortably in control right up to the final whistle.
This Saturday, Cheadle Town are away to Audley.
Players should meet at the Master Potter at 12.30pm for a 2.30pm kick-off.
Cheadle Town Reserves 3 Florence 3
CHEADLE staged a dramatic comeback at 3-1 down to Florence on Saturday to earn a share of the points with a dramatic 90th minute goal from Nick Langdon.
It was Cheadle who took the lead in the 20th minute when Scott Harvey was quick off the mark to take advantage of a shot that was parried by the Florence keeper.
With plenty still to do, Harvey collected the ball on the left and beat three defenders as he moved inside and struck Cheadle ahead.
Mark Hubbard almost increased Cheadle's lead with a well-struck volley that brought a fine save from the Florence keeper, who tipped it away from the top corner of the goals on the half hour.
Cheadle could only blame themselves for allowing Florence to get into the game. Errors in defence gave th visitors a cheap equaliser, then giving away a free kick on the edge of the goal area aksi proved costly as Florence scored direct to make it 2-1 at the break.
Cheadle made the worst possible start to the second half, giving away another goal with another blunder in defence in the very first minute, allowing Florence to take a commanding lead.
But Cheadle gradually began to fight back and get the better of their opponents.
The turning point came in the 70th minutem when Scott Harvey was given a free kick.
With a stunning strike Harvey scored again to bring Cheadle back into contention, With all to fight form Cheadle were battling away and Florence were on the back foot, feeling the game slipping away from them.
However, Cheadle had to wait until the final minute for justice to be done and it was Nick Langdon who was the hero with a drive from the edge of the goal area.
With honours shared, it was nevertheless Florence who were happier to hear the final whistle.
