Whitchurch Alport manager Luke Goddard, took his side into last night’s trip to 1874 Northwich looking to avoid a second defeat in four days against another Northwich side who ground share.

Saturday’s trip to Northwich Victoria ended in a 2-0 defeat with the match staged at Witton Albion, while 1874 share Winsford United’s ground, with Goddard having some sympathy for their current plight.

“Ultimately, it’s not their ground and so they have lost quite a bit of their identity that once made them one of the best non-league teams in the country with some terrific history,” he said.

“Financial mismanagement has seen them complete a meteoric fall from grace and you have to feel sorry for those that have supported them right from the outset, and we more than most understand what you can gain from creating a community spirit.

“There must have been another 60 or 70 people travel from Whitchurch and we’ve hardly been pulling up any trees these last three months. It makes you grateful for what you do have and we haven’t completed our journey yet.”

Goddard thought that his side had given a decent account of their abilities against an in-form side.

He added: “I felt the key moments in the game affected the end result and once again we are on the receiving end because we fail to make the most of our better chances, or maybe a refereeing decision or two that go against you. I’m always talking about fine margins and people probably are fed up of me repeating myself week in, week out.

“But you look at the chance we had to go 1-0 up and then the penalty shout straight after, and you could be looking at a two-goal cushion by half-time.

“But the referee fails to see the obvious shirt-pull on our keeper to allow them to go in front and the situation leads to you giving a completely different team talk during half-time. I thought we were better after the break, although we might not have created too many openings. The fact is, Northwich Victoria have one of the largest budgets in the league and yet we’ve competed right the way through the game with them. We set up to frustrate them and although they got a lot of crosses into our box, I didn’t think that Dave Parton was worked too many times.”

This weekend, Alport’s manager will look to rally his troops once more, although in much less taxing circumstances than usual. Yockings Park will host the first staff versus supporters match with Goddard in charge of the staff team, while first team regulars Parton and Darren Campion will lead the fans into battle.

Goddard insists he will be taking the clash seriously as there is chance for bragging rights within the club on a day where Alport’s recent poor form can be forgotten and all can enjoy themselves.

The charity match kicks off at 1pm with no specific amount to pay at the gate.

Although all donations will be acceptable and anyone wishing to play in the match will need to pay £5 for the privilege.