Mid-Term Report

Scheduling - rather than the weather - has given the club a two-week hiatus which in turn gives me the chance to break out of the cyclical preview-report-roundup routine and cast an analytical eye over the season thus far.

At the time of writing we sit in an unremarkable-but-not-disastrous 12th spot with 21 points from 20 matches having won 6, drawn 6 and lost 8. In total we've netted 41 times but have conceded slightly more at 45, so our goal difference isn't going to cause us much ruin as things stand. Not that I'm too concerned on that front because we've only received one severe shoeing this season - away at you-know-where - so if final places are decided on GD then we should be in fine fettle and it might be worth an extra rung on the ladder once the shake-up is complete at the end of April.

The difference between our home and away records is impossible to compare and contrast at the moment as we have played two-thirds of our games on the Park Road baize. With only four games left to play on home turf our season is evidently going to be made or broken on the road where, to be honest, our record thus far in all competitions this season has been mildly encouraging: only five defeats, and two of those were to Northern Premier League opposition (one of those was in the last minute of extra-time!).

Going back to league position and our annual holy grail of a top-ten finish looks a long way off if you take "possible points" into consideration. However, closer inspection will tell you that wins over Holker, Daisy Hill, Eccleshall and Darwen - all forthcoming matches with Daisy' home and away yet to come - will completely change that particular picture. All is definitely not lost.

One slightly worrying aspect is that we seemed to have lost the habit of virtually guaranteeing non-defeat when we have scored first. This particular - and quite handy - quirk that had been evident over the past two seasons has departed us; we have scored-first-and-won 8 times in total but have also scored-first-but-lost 8 times and all. The reverse situation where we tend to not-win if we concede first still applies - we have only conceded-first-but-still-won 2 times - but there's plenty of matches left to rectify that.

One particular stat that Steve might want to pick up on is the particular time within matches where we concede goals. If you want to score against us then it seems the final 15 minutes of each half is the best time to do it; nearly half of the goals against us have gone in during the 30-45 and 75-90 minute periods. As for when we score the most then the stats make for very un-Cheadle reading: we have netted the most frequently in the last fifteen minutes of a match. In the same vein you're pretty safe from missing a Cheadle goal if you're late to return from your half-time pie or pint: we have scored only 5 times in the opening fifteen minutes of the restart.

So there you have it so far, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Let the show recommence in February...

Player of the Month: December 2011/January 2012

A joint-month job this time around as there were only two matches in December which isn't enough to go on really, is it?

The now-customary box o'beer goes to a newcomer, somebody who has filled the gap left by a suspended Adam Roberts and/or an unavailable Warren Gaskin admirably over the past six weeks or so.

Well done David Ratcliffe. He'll be getting his alcoholic booty at some point next month.

Results Round-Up: Saturday 21st January 2012

The weather played its part again over the weekend as only a handful of Division One matches made the cut.

Abbey Hey are still top of the pile following a 2-1 away win at Ashton Town. They are two points clear of Wigan Robin Park who administered a leathering to Leek CSOB, going to Harrison Park and winning 4-0.

Elsewhere, Atherton Collieries let a 2-0 lead slip at home to draw 2-2 with Eccleshall; Rochdale Town moved into 5th place with a 3-2 home win over Daisy Hill and Formby inflicted another winless day on Holker Old Boys by snatching a late 2-1 win at Rakesmoor Lane (if only we could do that when we go up there!).

Our very own Cheadle Town are in 12th place with 21 points from 20 matches.

Cheadle Town 1-2 Chadderton

Ben Brooks receives a framed picture of himself after he had scored Cheadle Town's 1500th league goal in the North West Counties Football League against Abbey Hey the other week; team manager Steve Brokenbrow does the honours

Cheadle Town's recent upturn in form took a knock as they tumbled to this disappointing 1-2 reversal at home to Chadderton.

And after such a promising start to the match, too. We created three gilt-edged chances in the first half - scoring with one - but then faded away, resulting in a somewhat torpid second-half performance where the visitors were arguably the better outfit. Unfortunately there was no biblical downpour or poorly-sighted linesman to rescue us this time around.

A lively opening ten minutes was capped by us taking the lead. Chadderton were robbed of possession on the right, the ball was floated over and collected by Josh Taylor six yards out; despite having his back to goal he still managed a neat, economical turn-and-shot.

Two minutes later and we should have extended the lead. David Ratcliffe clipped an inch-perfect ball for Arron Dellosa to latch onto but his lob bounced centimetres wide of the post.

The course of the game then changed dramatically in the remaining eleven minutes of the half.

With 32 minutes gone, Chadderton's Danny Shaw was given time to collect the ball on the edge of the area and shift it onto his (obviously) favoured right foot before toe-bunging it into the roof of the net with Paul Socha bursting through on the left six minutes later before burying into the corner from a tightish angle.

With time ticking away at the end of the first half we were given the chance to start afresh for the second half as we were given a penalty following a shove in the back; normally deadly from the spot, Ben Brooks chose today to roll his shot wide of the post. 

Perhaps our haeds were still a little low after that as Chadderton had a volley of chances to wrap the game up around the hour mark. On 59 minutes they ballooned it over the crossbar following a scrable in the box, saw a counter-attack end up with the foot of the post being struck two minutes later with a teasing cross being fluffed right in front of goal shortly after that.

But, at 1-2, you're still very much in the match and - as I have said so may times before - you always get that one more chance....

...which came with a minute to go. We hadn't troubled him that much in the second half so credit to the Chadderton keeper for keeping altert enough to make an excellent save, tipping one of Andy Lindon's fierce drives over the crossbar.

So this is what you get for thrippling them 8-2 in the FA Cup? Knocked out of the First Division Trophy and now a league defeat. There's still one more joust to come when we travel to Andrew Street in April....

TEAM: Cavanagh, Hall (Riley), Clarke, Ratcliffe, Gaskin, Walley, Dellosa (Lindon), Taylor, Brooks, German, B Brokenbrow (Eme). Subs: Eme, Riley, Lindon, Street.

Saturday's Match: Chadderton (home)

Cheadle will be looking to continue their half-decent run of form this weekend as Chadderton make the visit to Park Road.

This one's definitely a case of "haven't we met before?" 

This is the re-arranged version of the league fixture that was controversially abandoned after 70 minutes back in August following a downpour and resulting poor eyesight of the linesman. Don't ask.

Add to that an FA Cup and First Division Trophy tie between the two teams this season and you get the feeling that the line between familairity and contempt is wearing a tad thin.

Chadderton come to us in half-decent form themselves - 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in their last six league outings - and are positioned in 8th place with 26 points from 18 matches and a fair few games-in-hand on those around them. One point of warning for us is that 16 of Chadderton's league points have come away from Andrew Street, as have two-thirds of their goals, and that they are unbeaten in their last four visits to Park Road.

If anybody is thinking of coming to this one then it's a 2.00pm kick-off. Come on Cheadle!

Match report will be on here by MIDNIGHT SUNDAY
Live match updates will be available via Twitter from 2.00pm onwards

Last five seasons at Park Road:
2010-2011: lost 3-4; lost 0-1 (VLC1)
2009-2010: lost 2-4
2008-2009: drew 1-1
2007-2008: won 2-1; lost 0-2 (FDT3)
2006-2007: won 1-0 

Results Round-Up: Saturday 14th January 2012

Frozen pitches were the (unwelcome0 order of the weekend as only three Division One matches survived.

Eccleshall recovered from two matches without scoring a goal to beat AFC Darwen at home by three goals to nil, a result that means we slip to 12th place.

The other two matches were draws. Holker Old Boys' indifferent form continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Ashton Town whilst Rochdale Town and Oldham Boro played out a 3-3 thriller at The Mayfield, a result that keeps both teams in the top ten places.

Saturday's Match: Nelson (away)

As the word 'Nelson' apears once more onto this website's radar, memories are cast back to that balmy evening at the arse end of the 2005-2006 season to "where it all started".

Perhaps not a lot has changed since then. Cheadle played the game of their lives and still lost and hopefully the pie, peas and gravy at Victoria Park (or "Little Wembley" to give it it's new, daft moniker) is still quite exquisite for a club at Level 10 of the proverbial pyramid.

Standing in the way of an eyebrow-raising third win on-the-bounce for us is a Nelson side who currently sit second-from-bottom but are unbeaten in their last three league outings and have the psychological advantage of their 3-2 win on the Park Road baize earlier on in the season.

We'll have a couple of suspended players back for this one which will give Steve a bit of a selection headache but may ultimately hand him the bonus of a strong bench.

It's a 2.00pm kick-off which could potentially be a bit of a nuisance as the wife has the car until 12.45ish. I might have to acquire a brick for a right foot....

Come on Cheadle!

Live score updates will be available via Twitter from 2.00pm onwards
Match report will be on here by MIDNIGHT SUNDAY 

Results Round-Up: Saturday 7th January 2012

Only five Division One games survived the weather over the weekend.

Wigan Robin Park missed out on the chance to go level on points with Abbey Hey as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home. Despite their 1-3 defeat to us, Abbey Hey are still two points clear at the top albeit WRP have three games in-hand on them.

Irlam couldn't make any group up either as they were also held to a draw at home; this was was scoreless as Eccleshall went back to Staffordshire with a share of the points.

Holker Old Boy's mini-slump continued as they were denied a win at Rochdale Town thanks to a late, late equaliser to ensure the game ended up as a 2-2 draw and Chadderton collected an away win at Ashton Town as they won 2-1.

Our very own Cheadle Town are now in 13th position with 21 points from 19 games.

Cheadle Town 3-1 Abbey Hey

Cheadle Town's excellent start to 2012 continured apace as top-of-the-table Abbey Hey were put to the sword.

The starting XI had only once change from the 5-0 win at Eccleshall - Sam Hall coming in for Ben Roberts - with this match taking a similar pattern to that particular win on Monday; once we had gone ahead we never looked back and richly deserved the three points.

If any neutral observers had come to Park Road hoping for some nail-biting goalmouth action then they would have been extremely disappointed with the first 38 minutes of this game as both teams prodded and jabbed at each other without producing too much in the way of clear-cut chances. Arron Dellosa had put the ball in the net after 4 minutes but was judged to be offside and Abbey Hey clobbered the ball over the bar on 23 minutes when the goal looked on.

For me, the outcome of this match turned in a madcap 30 seconds as the 39th minute ticked over.

An Abbey Hey striker was put clean through and looked certain to score but found his match in Steve Piggott who got down low to block his shot. Abbey Hey then arsed around with the loose ball which was then cleared upfield and touched on for Ben Brooks who found himself in an identical scoring position. He didn't miss, tucking the ball underneath the advancing keeper.

Just as we had done in Staffordshire on Monday, we put in a 2nd half performance that would result in us wrapping up the three points.

Just five minutes in, Paul Walley snatched a shot wide after a throw-in had landed at his feet with Arron Dellosa then being put through eight minutes later but inconveniently air-shooting at the last minute.

The young man was to have better luck on 73 minutes when he was instrumental in putting us 2-0 up. Latching onto a loose ball on the left - and in acres of space - he cut inside and kept his head superbly to square to the unattended Ben Brooks who had the simplest of tasks of tapping into an empty net.

With eight minutes to go, the result was put beyond doubt when Ben Brooks collected the match ball - and his 22nd club goal of the season - after dispatching a penalty.

Unfortunately for us - and much to Steve's chagrin - the clean sheet wasn't to be as an unlucky slip by Tiffany on the edge of the box allowed McKeever (?) to rattle in a low shot with just three minutes of the match remaining.

If the rest of 2012 is going to pan out like this then I'm not going to complain. Two excellent performances and - for the first time this season - two back-to-back victories in the league. A different prospect faces us again in deepest Lancashire next Saturday as we face a trip to Nelson. Can we make it three on the bounce...?

TEAM: Piggott, Hall (Tiffany), Clarke (Riley), Ratcliffe, Gaskin, Walley, Dellosa, Taylor, Brooks, German, B Brokenbrow (Eme). Subs: Tiffany, Riley, Eme.

Saturday's Match: Abbey Hey (home)

PLEASE NOTE: 2.00pm KICK-OFF if you're thinking of coming....

Fresh on the back of the 5-0 win at Eccleshall we have a tougher test in prospect this Saturday when top-of-the-table Abbey Hey come to 'Town.

Top-of-the-table, free-scoring Abbey Hey nonetheless. 60 goals have hit the opposition's net courtesy of Abbey Hey this season in the league thus far, making them the highest scorers in the NWCFL First Division as things stand.

Of mild encouragement will be the fact that Abbey Hey's slip-ups have come on the road; four of their five defeats have come away from their Gorton fortress. That said, they were mainly at the start of the season and they have now won 4 of their last 5 away matches.

Top-of-the-shop they may be - three points clear of Wigan Robin Park with 45 points from 22 matches - but they [and WRP] will be aware that you-know-who are lurking with intent, a shitload of games-in-hand and no sign of losing a league match. That promotion place is nowhere near being wrapped up.

It's a tough ask on paper, but can we achieve the one thing we haven't done all season and win two league games back-to-back?

Come on Cheadle!

Live match updates will be available via Twitter from 2.00pm onwards
Match report will be on here by MIDNIGHT SUNDAY

Last five seasons at Park Road:
2010-2011: lost 1-3
2009-2010: did not meet
2008-2009: did not meet
2007-2008: did not meet
2006-2007: did not meet