North West Counties League

Alport 2 Cammell Laird 0

Alport returned to winning ways with a routine 2-0 home win to jump up a place in the First Division table.

The pitch passed a 6pm inspection and held up really well with the Reds putting in arguably one of their best performances of the season – certainly from an attacking perspective.

There were so many opportunities created by the rampant home side that the match could easily have ended with Alport improving their goal difference by seven or eight.

Indeed, Alport really ought to have been out of sight by half-time.

Lairds fashioned very few opportunities throughout and ended the match with just nine players on the field after ill-discipline crept in and effectively ended the contest with about 10 minutes to play.

Whitchurch gave three debuts with Jud Ellis and Nicky Porter both starting, and Joe Cuff coming on from the bench to terrorise the Lairds right back for the last half hour.

The game started with a really high tempo and skipper Si Everall was unlucky inside a minute not to open the scoring.

A great pass from Nick Marley got the number 9 in behind but as he set himself for a lob over John Lynch, the ball simply died on the boggy surface and the chance passed by.

It didn’t prove too costly as minutes later Joe Howell slid in to meet Porter’s superb cross to smash the ball high into the net.

Ellis spurned two really good chances and Porter clattered the post, with Ryan Thomas also going close from a header that Lynch held onto from a corner.

That came about as the keeper was somehow able to keep out Arron John’s howitzer from the edge of the box.

Lynch had also stuck out a leg to divert Everall’s close range effort wide as Lairds floundered throughout a one-sided first half.

But for the Lairds stopper it could have been five or six at the interval. But the night would not end well for the glovesman.

At the resumption, Johns and Howell might both have added to the scoreline before the hour but Alport continued to knock at the door, and after a really nasty challenge by Tom Quinn on Everall brought players from both sides together, the referee had his work cut out as flailing arms were everywhere.

Quinn was rightly red carded and Lynch soon followed with outfield player Charlie MacInnes taking the gloves.

He was finally beaten after Cuff’s shot came back off the post and fell to Everall.

The striker set the ball and lashed it into the far corner to complete a well deserved victory for the Yockings Men, whose mightily impressive home record continues.