A RESOUNDING win at St Helens saw Whitchurch Alport close the gap on leaders Silsden but they were denied the chance for another victory as last night's clash with Abbey Hulton United was called off.

The Yockings Park men knew a win at the Arcoframe Stadium would be enough to lift them up above Litherland Remyca into second place in what was their game in hand.

And although the 5-1 scoreline might have been a little harsh on a St Helens side who gave their all, the fact is this Alport side are being lauded by many outsiders as the best in the division.

Town boss Lee Jenkinson was fulsome of his praise after the match, despite being handed their biggest defeat of the season at their new home.

“I hope Whitchurch Alport win the title because they’re the best team we’ve played all season by a mile,” he said. “It’s just a great club with fantastic support, some really good players and everyone there is so friendly and welcoming.

“They are the benchmark for the rest to aspire to so I’ve nothing but the highest admiration.”

Alport gaffer Luke Goddard accepted his side didn’t always have it their own way at the Arcoframe. “I thought we were clinical, particularly in that first half,” he said.

“When we arrived at the ground we took a look at the pitch and it looked quite narrow so we told the boys to get balls into the box. “We scored with three headers and we’re starting to look a real threat from those situations.

“At half-time we were 3-0 up and I said to the players we’d only been six or seven out of 10 really. “We were at the same stage at the same time against Bacup and I asked the players to go on and show people what we’re all about.

"There were a lot of people watching us and I wanted the players to set a statement so people would think ‘Whitchurch deserve to be in that top two.’

"Sadly we didn’t start that well in the first 10 minutes of the second half and let them back into it, but for the last 20 minutes I thought we were a bit more ruthless and well on top.”

Goddard was disappointed with the slow start to that second half. “We made individual mistakes but we can learn from things like that,” he said.

“We don’t mean any disrespect to St Helens but if we come up against one of our so-called rivals and start like that, you’d expect to get punished.

“We made sloppy mistakes but in fairness to the lads, they’re still young so we must learn quickly to make sure those errors don’t happen too often.

“We knew St Helens would throw everything at us but instead of weathering the storm and taking the sting out of them, we made errors that prevented that from happening. But we will learn from that and it’s something we can work on.”

The Reds host Alsager Town on Saturday. A big crowd is expected for the match, which is sponsored by DLP Photography. Gates open at 1.30pm with admission £5 (concessions £3) and under-16s are admitted free with a paying adult.