North West Counties League Division One South

Ellesmere Rangers 2

Sandbach United 0

ELLESMERE Rangers proved they are not willing to go down without a fight as they picked up their second win in three games against the visiting Sandbach United.

Rangers sit nine points behind New Mills who are one place above the relegation zone, with four games left to play.

A much-needed three points was added to their total of 22 for the season with goals from Adam Davies and William Wells proving to be the difference.

A great performance in the Rangers net by Richard Cowderoy helped to get his side over the line.

Rangers took the lead through Davies halfway through the first half.

After 20 minutes of play, Davies teed up a free kick and fired past the wall into the net to make it 1-0.

Their lead looked as though it would be short-lived, however, when the referee spotted a foul in Rangers’ penalty area and pointed to the spot for Sandbach.

Josh Lane fired the spot kick at goal, but Cowderoy had more nerve and pulled off a great save.

The remainder of the first half was relatively quiet, with neither side able to break through and find a goal before the break.

Cowderoy continued his heroics after the break with several fine stops to ensure his side could hold on to their one-goal advantage.

Rangers were defending well and after some good work at the back they were able to eventually find the net for the second time.

With 15 minutes left to play, Rangers were able to get forward and slide the ball through to Wells who kept his nerve and doubled his side’s lead to make the three points look a lot more likely.

The game ended with just a few more chances before the final whistle, and Rangers ran out as winners.

Rangers now face a tough trip to face Wythenshawe Amateurs on Saturday before a tough game away at Vauxhall Motors on Saturday, April 20.

They then take on Eccleshall and New Mills to finish off the season.

West Midlands Regional League

Premier League

Tividale 1

Wem Town 0

WEM remain second-bottom in the West Midlands Regional League after they were narrowly beaten by leaders Tividale on Saturday.

The single strike was enough to dash Wem's hopes of back-to-back wins and boost their survival hopes but the Dudley-based side remain in the driving seat for the title.

However, Wem's performance against the long-time leaders was enough to keep bosses a boost ahead of last night's clash at Black Country Rangers, where a win would have seem them temproariliy in third from bottom

The club said on Facebook: "Great effort today against top of the table Tividale.

"We made them work to get over the line. Got to continue the hard work."

Wem remain four points from safety but have two games in hand on Dudley Sports, who currently occupy fourth from bottom.

However, a win on Tuesday would have moved them to within one point, with just one game in hand.

Then on Saturday, they return to Bowensfield to face mid-table side Cradley Town in another crucial clash.

Meanwhile, at the top of the table, Haughmond remain one point behind the leaders as they put five past bottom side Pegasus Juniors without reply.

The title race is now to both the top two as Wolverhampton Casuals have only one game left but are five six points behind Tividale.

On Saturday, Tividale travel to Black Country Rangers and Haughmond make the trip to Wellington in what are must-wins fixtures for both sides in their chase for the title.

Cheshire Premier League

Malpas 5

Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds 1

MALPAS signed off their Cheshire Premier League home campaign with a stunning win over Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds at Wrexham Road on Saturday.

The Red and Blacks, who are all-but-certain to finish the season second from bottom as they are five points behind FC St Helens with only one game to play, demolished their opponents, who will be returning to Wrexham Road on Saturday in the President's Cup last 16.

A Lee Parry double led the way for Malpas with Tyler Smith scoring from the spot and Ben Parry also getting on the scoresheet for Cheshire side.

Malpas were dominant throughout with Padgate only scoring their consolation goal when the Red and Blacks had raced into a 4-0 lead.

They will be hoping for the same again next weekend as both sides turn their eyes onto cup action, with Malpas looking for a run to boost their end of season momentum for 2019/20.

Meanwhile, at the top, Pilkington require just three points from their final game of the season on April 20 after they thrashed Egerton 6-0 at home on Saturday.

They are three points behind leaders Altrincham but have a better goal difference.

Shropshire Premier Division

Brown Clee 1

Prees United 4

PREES signed off their 2018/19 season with a fine win away at brown Clee to seal a top-three finish in the Shropshire Premier League.

The Rec Men, who may be left to think 'what if' about their season following a winter slump, put together a small run of form to finish in third place.

Prees finished with 35 points from their 18 games, winning 11, losing five and drawing just two of their fixtures with a small goal difference of eight.

The win against their Shropshire rivals saw Prees jump over Madeley Sports, and had an eight-point lead over fellow north Shropshire side Gobowen Celtic.

The title was received by champions Shrewsbury Juniors last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Juniors are into the Premier Cup final after they thrashed St Martins Village 6-2 where they will play Oakengates Rangers who beat Madeley 2-1.