Holker Old Boys 4-2 Cheadle Town

If Wednesday's game had entertainment all the way, then this match equalled it with controversy.

And it all started off so peacefully. For the first 40 minutes Cheadle - playing uphill - absolutely battered Holker and should have been out of sight. But as that 40th minute ticked over, the roof caved in and it turned into a match that Polardin and I still can't make sense of. Holker converted a penalty that looked like it wasn't and then three minutes later went 2-0 up, in a game they deserved bugger all from, with a goal that looked, and probably was, a mile offside. Just to put the crust on the sh1t pie of a game that was being served, Cheadle's discipline went completely out of the window at the end of the half. At the break, Holker were 2-0 up in a game they deserved absolutely nothing from.

Not that the second half was then any better. For the second time this week, Mellor was sold an underhit backpass allowing a Holker forward to sneak in and make it 3-0 just before the hour mark. Playing the better football...in fact, the only team playing "football", Cheadle kept going and got the goal they bloody deserved on 64 minutes; Macca storming through and seeing his shot parried up into the air by the 'keeper - Arron Riley lashing it into the unguarded net.

Then came the moments that will put this match down in this blog's infamous history. First of all, a blatant dive by a Holker forward (that's you, the No.11) which the referee fell for. Brian (Andy Lindon's dad) said what he thought about the player, prompting the referee to stop the game and come over to have a word with him, threatening to have Brian thrown out of the ground if he spoke like that to the players again. Brian was speechless. Since when has it been the referee's business to tell the spectators off? Whilst all that was going on, Polardin was remonstrating with the offending Holker forward who verbally admitted that he had dived. Polardin will expand on this matter in a post later on this week.

With four minutes to go, Holker had a shot over the bar but then - for a reason that will be unknown as long as man exists on this planet - had a free-kick awarded to them. The resulting set-play was curled around the wall and into the net for a frankly laughable 4-1 scoreline to Holker. Cheadle's brand of football ensured that they got another chance and so it came on the 90th minute, Arron Riley getting his second of the game as he was put clean through.

I'm normally quite fair in my match reports. If the other team deserved to win, then I'll say it. But for yesterday's match, I'll make an exception.

Team: Mellor, Heath, Flanagan, McDonagh, Roberts, Brocklehurst, A Riley, Lindon, R Martin ("Housey"), Hussain, Stewart (W Riley). Subs: W Riley, "Housey", Brockenbrow

Our heartfelt thanks to CTFC's Terry Musgrave who paid for our breakfast as we met up with the squad at the Whitewater Hotel on the A590. It was great to share an hour in the company of the players.

Photos: a bit of a bumper collection. Start here and then use the boxes on the right (underneath where it says "Nine Below Zero's Photostream") to work your way through them. You'll suss it out.