North West Counties League

Premier Division

Litherland REMYCA 1

Whitchurch Alport 3

Three goals in 11 second-half minutes gave Alport a first ever victory over Litherland at the eighth time of asking. Remy had stormed into a lead after just 90 seconds given to them by Colin Quirk who has a habit of scoring worldies against the red men.

This one was no different as the striker chanced his arm from fully 40 yards to get his shot beyond Dave Parton and with one bounce the ball found the net.

Reds boss Luke Goddard playing in an unfamiliar role higher up the pitch was very lucky to stay on it after what looked like a very poor challenge on Litherland keeper Travis Wilson midway through the first half.

Perhaps that was a sign of Alport's luck beginning to change because when Lennon Whewell poked a shot beyond Parton five minutes before half-time, Leon Ashman came round to make a superb goal line clearance to keep Whitchurch in the match.

At 2-0 the mountain may well have been insurmountable for the Yockings men, but the defender's timely intervention saved the day and helped the away side prepare for the next vital 45 minutes.

It was on the hour mark that the game began to swing in Alport's favour and it was the immense Dan Skelton who levelled things up when he smashed home from close range from a corner kick. Soon after, the sizeable away support went into raptures when Luke Walley shrugged off a defender to set up a chance which he accepted with some aplomb belting the ball past a hapless Wilson.

Litherland were visibly rocking and so when Ashman buried a header from another set piece it was pretty much game over from that point.

For once, Goddard's men handled the last 20 minutes superbly well, protecting the ball when in possession and breaking up play to frustrate the home side.

That said, Parton had to make a fantastic save to make sure that a nervy ending wasn't necessary.

At the final whistle, fans and players celebrated with one another as Alport recorded their sixth away win – a result that takes a huge amount of pressure from a team that had been struggling to rediscover their earlier season form.