North East Wales Football League

Mike Beech Memorial Trophy

Preliminary Round

Chirk Town 2

Caerwys 1

CHIRK Town returned to action with a win over fellow league side Caerwys in the Mike Beech Memorial Trophy.

The Taverners returned to action after a week away from the pitch following the sudden death of centre back Jason Williams.

A minute’s silence was held prior to kick off for the Town defender, before the side went on to put on a great performance in his memory.

There were debuts for goalkeeper Reece Hughes and Ryan Houghton, and the side began the game brightly, with their first chance of note coming after the opening 10 minutes.

Shaun Morris broke through and fired his early effort just wide of the Caerwys post.

Debutant Hughes was called into action between the sticks early in the first half, and was equal to the Caerwys forwards’ efforts with some good stops.

After heroics from Hughes at one end, fellow debutant Houghton gave his side the lead after half an hour with an unbelievable strike from 35 yards out.

His effort spurred the Chirk men on to grab a second goal soon after.

Shortly before the break, skipper Matthew Cooke and Shaun Morris exchanged passes down the right of the pitch and eventually delivered a cross to Cam Roberts who slotted home to double their lead heading into half-time.

The Chirk men dropped a little deeper in the second half and kept the score at 2-0 for most of the second half, with some last ditch tackles denying the visitors.

However, the Flintshire-based side eventually pulled a goal back in the 77th minute through Dylan Mackie.

The Taverners worked hard to hold onto their lead later in the second half to take the win and secure their place in the quarter finals of the cup.

Chirk are without a fixture at the weekend and are set to return to action with a league fixture at CPD Sychdyn on October 26.

Elsewhere in the cup, Mold Town United won 5-1 against Borras Park Albion to join the Chirk side in the quarter-finals of the cup.

North West Counties Football League

Division One South

Cammell Laird 1907 2

Ellesmere Rangers 2

A FIRST half brace for Tawanda Melusi was enough to ensure Ellesmere Rangers took a draw from their weekend fixture with Cammell Laird 1907.

Melusi converted a penalty early in the game, before grabbing a second for his team later in the half to put them 2-1 ahead.

They were unable to hold on for a victory however, with Lairds grabbing a second during the second half.

It was a positive start for new managers Connor Courtney and Richard Brown, who lead the side to their third draw of the season. Melusi’s opener was matched by Mike Furlong’s strike in the 21st minute, before he grabbed a second in the 41st minute.

In the second half, Rangers looked to be heading for victory, but Kyle Sambor equalised in the 66th minute.

Rangers searched for a winner but were unable to put themselves ahead of their opposition, meaning the search for a league win this season continues.

Two home games await Rangers in the coming weeks; first is a home tie with Cleator Moor Celtic in the first round of the Macron Cup on Saturday, before New Mills at home in the league on Saturday, October 26.

Welsh National League

Premier Division

Chirk AAA 3

Llay Welfare 3

AFTER trailing by three goals after an hour of play, Chirk AAAs showed great spirit to come back and take a point from their game against Llay Welfare.

With fewer than 20 minutes to play, Chirk grabbed two goals in quick succession, before adding a third late into stoppage time to rescue a point.

Before kick-off, a minute’s silence was held for former Chirk AAA and Chirk Town player Jason Williams, who was well-known to many at both Chirk clubs.

It was a slow start to the game for Chirk who had limited chances early in the afternoon.

They fell behind to two goals in the first half from Luke Taylor and Matthew Worral.

And things went from bad to worse after the break when Tom Wells bagged a third for the visiting Llay side.

Chirk refused to let their guests have it all their own way however, and reduced the deficit to just one goal in the space of four minutes.

Callum Taylor found the net in the 74th minute, before Niall Freeman made it 3-2 in the 78th minute.

Hopes of a comeback for the Colliers took a hit in the last 10 minutes of the game when Matthew Woods was shown a straight red card.

But this did not slow Chirk down as they continued to put pressure on Llay until the last few minutes.

They were rewarded for their efforts when Toby Nash delivered a cross in the 93rd minute towards Jordan Owen who headed home to salvage a draw.

Chirk are in FA Wales Welsh Cup action on Saturday with a home game against CPD Llannefydd.

North West Counties Football League Division One South

Cheadle Heath Nomads 3

St Martins 2

Despite a second half brace from Jake Stinton, St Martins were handed a 10th consecutive defeat in all competitions after a stoppage time strike by Cheadle Heath Nomads’ George Blackwell snatched a draw from the north Shropshire side.

The Saints fell behind in the 18th minute, before Nomads extended their lead to two goals in the 69th minute.

Stinton was on hand to seemingly rescue his side however, when he grabbed two goals in the space of four minutes late in the second half.

Any hope of a victory was quashed however, when Blackwell scored for the hosts in the 91st minute to all-but seal victory for Nomads.

The result will be a tough one to take for interim manager Dave Smith, who was just minutes away from picking up a point in his first game in charge.

St Martins were in action on Tuesday night at home against Maine Road (result not known at time of going to press).

By David Figg

The Playermatch.com Cup

Second Round

Garstang 2

FC Oswestry Town 2

A BRACE apiece for Garstang’s Alan Coar and FC Oswestry Town’s Sean Jones sent their Playermatch.com Cup second round tie to penalties, in which Oswestry prevailed.

Town’s Jones scored in the 16th minute to put his side ahead, but Town found themselves behind after the break when Coar bagged two goals in the space of just three minutes.

It was left to Jones to match his efforts in the 92nd minute and score to take the game to a penalty shootout.

Town’s players held their nerve to take the win in the shootout 5-3, and secure their spot in the next round of the competition.

The win sees Town continuing in their good vein of form in all competitions, with the Oswestry men still sitting top of the NWCFL Division One South table.

Town will now prepare for their next fixture against Maine Road away on Saturday in the Macron Cup.

They then host West Didsbury and Chorlton on Saturday, October 26.

By David Figg

JD Cymru Premier

The New Saints 6

Airbus Broughton UK 2

GREG Draper responded to Scott Ruscoe’s call for more goals as he netted four times for The New Saints against Airbus UK Broughton on Saturday.

Saints got back to winning ways against the newly-promoted side after two consecutive defeats.

Draper’s first half hat-trick coupled with a strike from Dean Ebbe gave the hosts a 4-2 lead heading into half-time.

The New Zealand international grabbed his fourth in the second half, with a goal from Chris Marriott making it six of the best for the defending champions.

It was exactly the sort of start Ruscoe would have been looking for with his side finding the net in just 13 minutes.

Billy Whitehouse’s delivery into the penalty area put a goal on a plate for Ebbe who made no mistake in firing home from six yards out.

Draper had his first of the afternoon five minutes later after creating space for himself in the area and firing in off the post to double Saints’ lead.

It looked as though TNS would put the game to bed when Draper added a third from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute; but they ensured any chance of a contest was blown away in the 43rd minute when Draper found himself one on one with the keeper and fired his effort into the net.

TNS took a four-goal advantage into the break, and wasted no time in adding to their lead in the second half.

It was Draper again who netted on the hour-mark; the forward met Kurtis Byrne’s cross and headed in his fourth of the afternoon.

George Peers did pull a goal back for Airbus in the 74th minute to make the score 5-1.

But the five-goal difference was restored four minutes later with Marriott getting in on the act.

Marriott was in the right place at the right time to tap in a shot which had deflected off the crossbar.

Despite being well out of the game, Airbus continued trying and were rewarded for their efforts again moments after Marriott’s goal.

Peers broke through on goal for a second time and kept his composure to beat Paul Harrison.

The win sends TNS to second in the table, behind Barry Town United who are yet to lose a game.

Barry also have a game in hand over Saints having played nine games so far.

TNS are now sitting on the same points total as Bala Town and Connah’s Quay Nomads as they prepare for matchday 11 of their league campaign.

Next up for TNS is a trip to face another newly-promoted side in Penybont, who have struggled slightly since their promotion.

The league newbies have just one win from their nine opening fixtures in the league.

Then a week after that, Saints host Bala Town – they will be looking to pick up a better result than last time out when Bala took three points from them.

Shropshire Premier League

Premier Division

St Martins Village 5

Hopesgate United 5

BOTH St Martins Village and Hopesgate United took a point apiece in their Shropshire Premier League fixture on Saturday as they played out a 10-goal thriller.

Five goals from five different players secured a point for Village and keep them in seventh place.

Following their defeat in the local derby against Gobowen Celtic last time out, Village were looking to bounce back with a victory.

It was a good reaction from an attacking point of view, with Jake Cross, Daryl Davies, Harry Dunn, Dan Pridding and Zakh Ward all getting their names on the scoresheet.

However, the visiting opposition were in good enough form to match the free-scoring Village side, and netted five goals of their own to take a point home with them.

While St Martins sit seventh, Hopesgate sit in 10th with four points from their opening six games.

Village will be looking for their third win of the season in their next game when they face Prees United away on Saturday.

Shropshire Premier League

Premier Division

Telford Juniors Reserves 2

Gobowen Celtic 3

GOBOWEN Celtic took three points from their game against Telford Juniors Reserves to move to second in the table on Saturday.

George Hughes was on the scoresheet again in what proved to be a difficult game for Celtic.

The win puts them four points adrift of Wellington Amateurs Development at the top of the table, with two games in hand.

It means Gobowen’s fine start to the season continues, with the side having lost just one of their opening seven league games this campaign.

Gobowen are back in league action on Saturday when they host Brown Clee.

Elsewhere in the league, Madeley Sports picked up a 3-1 win away at Albrighton, Wellington Amateurs beat Prees United 3-2 and Wrockwardine Wood Juniors won 4-1 against Stoke Heath.

The most notable win of the weekend was Shrewsbury Juniors away at Brown Clee where they won 12-1.