Cheadle Town 2-0 Padiham

A brace from Deano gave Cheadle the three points in a comfortable victory in less-than-comfortable playing conditions.

Heavy bouts of rain overnight and during the morning had left the Park Road playing surface in a bit of a muddy state. This meant that the opening passages of play resembled "Bambi on ice" as the players got used to the run of the ball and the stability of conditions underfoot.

Cheadle's two chances in the opening fifteen minutes would suggest that it was they who adapted to the awkward conditions the quickest. Carl Buchanan just failed to get on the end of an Arron Riley cross after 4 minutes and Ben Roberts kept his footing to send a vicious left-footed drive heading for the corner of the net after 15 minutes.

The 'keeper needn't have bothered making an excellent save to tip it over the bar as Cheadle went ahead from the resulting corner kick. Arron Riley's flick-on was poked in from a yard out by Deano.

Carl Buchanan's sorties down the left-wing were also causing problems. What a shame that his excellent work wasn't rewarded after 34 minutes when nobody could capitalise on a rifled-in cross from the left.

Two minutes before half-time, Padiham called Mellor into serious action for the first - and realistically last - time of the match as he had to punch a looping header off the line. This attempt on goal was bettered in closeness down at the other end just a minute later as Ben Roberts had a go at another left-footed drive; this time he hit the post. Half-time, Cheadle 1-0 up.

Padiham's increased industry for the opening period of the second half was halted in its tracks by Cheadle's second goal of the match on 53 minutes. In an almost carbon-copy of the first goal, a corner was flicked-on by Arron Riley and met by the feet of Deano, except this time he was at the far post, swivelling neatly to crash an unstoppable volley into the roof of the net.

That may have been pretty much that in terms of goalmouth action for the rest of the match but Cheadle never looked in danger of making life difficult for themselves, mainly because Padiham never really troubled them; the visitors looked a pale shadow of the team that Cheadle faced last season.

Three decent points earned today. The rollercoaster is definitely in an "up" phase at the moment....

Photos from today can be seen by clicking here

Using the team photo that was taken before the away match at Daisy Hill last month, I created a decent framed version for the club to hang up in the clubhouse. Here's me handing it over to CTFC chairman, Chris Davies.

TEAM: Mellor, Clarke, B Roberts, Fellows, A Roberts, Brocklehurst, Riley, MacDonald, Buchanan (Brokenbrow), Martin (Myers), Lindon. Subs: Flanagan, Myers, Brokenbrow

Saturday's Opponents: Padiham

How many of you have said "Euro 2008 won't be worth watching now England aren't in it"? Don't talk out of your arse. We are not as good as we think we are, so I'm sure the tournament will cope perfectly without us. There, that's all I'll say on international matters.

Domestically, it's a return to Park Road action for Cheadle Town as we host Padiham this coming Saturday. Ah, Padiham...pains in the Cheadle arses - with a capital 'P' - of late. They took six points from us last season (with a 0-5 reversal at The Arbories thrown in) and made sure that this term started off with a defeat and all.

That's the negative pish out of the way, let's start to look for the light in the tunnel.

In the typical rollercoaster ride that is a Cheadle season, we seem to be on one of our higher points at the moment with a win and a draw in our two previous away matches. Plus, Padiham haven't performed as well as expected this season. They are riddled with injuries at the moment with five regular first-teamers on the treatment table and lost their two main strikers to other clubs (one of them being ex-Cheadle forward Vinnie Braine). Added to the potential of Cheadle getting a victory is Padiham's away form: just one win on-the-road this season...away at top-five Chadderton. Go figure.

And after the social interruptions of the past couple of weekends, I'm back in attendance! Cue defeat, then!

Come on Cheadle!

Padiham 2-0 Cheadle Town

A strange penalty decision and a goal with the last kick of the game were enough for Padiham to condemn Cheadle to an opening day defeat at The Arbories.

Given Cheadle's passages of play and the way they approached this game, no way was there going to be a repeat of the five-nil drubbing they received at the same ground last season. In fact, Cheadle could have come away with a share of the spoils had Michael Myers not squandered two gilt-edged opportunities to get Cheadle's league tally up and running. On 67 minutes he had the ball at his feet with only the 'keeper to beat but could only blast it against his body and then on 80 minutes somehow spooned an easy chance over the bar. Both of those opportunities would have made it 1-1 at the time.

The way in which Padiham went ahead on the 19 minute mark was surrounded by controversy. Six minutes previously Cheadle's McDonagh had read a wayward backpass and was 50-50 with the Padiham 'keeper for the ball. McDonagh seemed to get to the ball first but was then upended - no penalty given, a furious Cheadle bench and Coach Tommo sent off.

Padiham then had a penalty claim waved away by the referee, only to be overruled by the linesman. Cue another angry Cheadle bench, but also cue converted penalty. Padiham almost had a second on the 26 minute mark as a header crashed from underside the crossbar and onto the goal-line. 1-0 to Padiham at half-time.

Cheadle garnered themselves more chances in the second half and had the lion's share of possession but not without letting Padiham have their decent chances and all; Mellor was called into action at least twice with excellent saves. Alas he could do nothing about the goal that wrapped things up. He had already made an excellent stop but was still prostrate as the ball was slammed into his net.

It's a defeat but I'm not at all concerned about what the rest of the season holds for Cheadle Town; it is only the first game of the season after all. If the lads continue to play like they did today, then the wins will come. I don't normally make a habit of picking players out for recognition but I must give right-back Scott Clarke a shout as he had an outstanding game today and barely put a foot wrong.

Onto Wednesday.......

Photos can be seen by clicking here

TEAM: Mellor, Clarke, Hussain, Cotterill, A Roberts (Logan), Brocklehurst, Riley, MacDonald, McDonagh (Morgan), Myers, Carpenter. Subs: Flanagan, Logan, Morgan

Tomorrow's Opponents: Padiham

Right. The pre-season fannying about is over. Time for the serious stuff to unfold.

Hmm, Padiham away for our first game of the season. Given that they knocked us out of the FA Vase, gave us an almighty five-nil beating with football's thrippling stick at the Arbories and beat us 1-3 at home after going 2-0 down after ten minutes last season, there's two ways of looking at this fixture:

1. With a sickening, bloodthirsty desire for revenge tinged with the faint whiff of hope that we'll catch Padiham on the hop or
2. With all the nervous trepidation of a Napoleonic War-era navy-boy who has been caught urinating on the deck and wants his lashing with a cat o' nine tails over and done with as soon as possible.

My personal opinion is that we'll either win this one 1-0 or be at the wrong end of another beating, particularly if Padiham continue their momentum from the end of last season where they finished third.

The first day of the new season is like the 3rd round of the FA Cup - anything can happen! Come on Cheadle!

Match report from last night's friendly match at Atherton LR is underneath this post - just scroll down the screen a little bit and you'll find it.

Cheadle Town 1-3 Padiham

Two goals in the first ten minutes were the deciding factor as Cheadle fell to their second successive home defeat against promotion-chasing Padiham.

Without a handful of first-team regulars such as Arron Riley, Dean Martin, Barry Cotterill and Adam Roberts, Cheadle Town would have it all to do. They didn't make their case much easier after finding themselves a goal down after about 15 seconds! The curse of the returning player struck as Vinnie Braine netted with a header.

Five minutes later and Cheadle were almost level. Adie James latched onto a through ball and poked it past the oncoming 'keeper, only to see his effort cleared off the line. After eight minutes, though, Padiham were two up. Vinnie Braine sent over a cross to the left to a Padiham striker who lashed in a fiercely-struck shot; unfortunately the Cheadle 'keeper couldn't keep hold of it and it spun off his hands and looped into the net.

Cheadle then started to find their heads and gradually got themselves going with some good play, carving out some decent chances. The most notable of which was an 11th minute turn and shot by Scott Flanagan on the edge of the box that was superbly saved by the Padiham 'keeper. Said 'keeper kept Flanagan at bay again on the stroke of half-time.

Not that it was all Cheadle, however. Every time Padiham went forward they looked very threatening with ex-Cheadle forward Vinnie Braine alert to everything and having a very strong game. Half-time, Cheadle 0-2 Padiham.

Cheadle gave a much better account of themselves in the second half. Adie James - who had an excellent match - was unlucky again on 47 minutes as a header rolled across the top of the crossbar.

Padiham weren't as fluid as they were for the first 45 minutes, but still garnered some excellent chances. On 55 minutes a header was flashed in from a corner; it found the feet of a Padiham striker about two yards out, but he somehow put it over the bar. Two minutes later and they put the match out of Cheadle's reach with a converted penalty. On the hour mark they could have made it four but Vinnie Braine missed from two yards out with the net gaping.

To their credit, Cheadle kept motoring and got their reward after 62 minutes, albeit in slightly strange circumstances. Brocky's free-kick looked like food-and-drink for the Padiham 'keeper but he somehow managed to let it slip out of his firm grasp. I'm not really sure who ended up bundling it into the net but seeing as how it was he who came out running with the ball in his hands for the re-start, I'm giving it to Johnny Hussain...until the NWCFL website proves otherwise!

Cheadle then had some chances to narrow the deficit in the last 20 minutes of the match but the Padiham 'keeper was equal to shots from James and Hussain.

Credit to Cheadle who kept going in the face of adversity and were good value for their goal, despite the defeat. Make no doubt about it, this game was lost in the first ten minutes, but that's not taking anything away from a Padiham side who Polardin and I have been very impressed with this season. You can see why they're third in the league.

TEAM: Smith, Heath, B Roberts (Street), McDonagh, Logan, Brocklehurst, Lindon, Flanagan, James (Brokenbrow), Hussain. Subs: Brokenbrow, Street, Hawse

Tomorrow's Opponents: Padiham

This match's importance was diminished slightly as the final whistle went at The Arbories Ground, Padiham at around 9.35pm on Wednesday night.

As Padiham were celebrating beating New Mills, a six-point gap - and a plus-eleven goal difference - opened up between them and The Millers in fourth place. Facing Padiham tomorrow and then New Mills next Saturday could have meant that all eyes were on Cheadle Town as, whether they'd have liked it or not, they would have been involved in the hunt for the possible third promotion spot, big style.

A victory over Padiham tomorrow would keep New Mills' flickering promotion candle alight; there'd just be the small matter of making sure they won all of their remaining matches and hoping that Padiham slipped up again.

A victory for Padiham tomorrow, given Wednesday's result could, nay would pretty much seal the deal for The Storks should a third team be granted promotion to Div 1.

You're probably thinking that Cheadle have got no incentive to win this anyway as they have "nothing to play for". Au contraire. The FA Vase defeat back in September and that crushing five-nil hammering that they got at The Arbories back in March will still be fresh in the memories and it'd be nice to avenge them in some way. Will Cheadle make Padiham fret about promotion for another week or so?

Come on Cheadle!

Padiham 5-0 Cheadle Town

Cheadle's return to footballing action was met by this thorough beating at the hands of Padiham.

Right from the first minute to the ninetieth, Padiham had this game in their grip. The fact that this was probably the worst Cheadle performance we've seen all season shouldn't take anything away from Padiham - they were well-organised, well-disciplined and richly deserved their three points today.

The tone of the afternoon was set after just five minutes when ex-Cheadle midfielder Damien Morrison was put clean through on the Cheadle net to poke home. I told you he'd score, didn't I?

Cheadle then started to put some hard graft together which resulted in a lovely move that was unfortunately capped by a rather weak shot from Deano. When Heathy fell awkwardly and had to come off, Cheadle's bad start to the match wasn't made any better.

On 25 minutes a Padiham free-kick from the left was sent over and met by a thumping header at the far post for their second goal. Five minutes later and one of their forwards hit the woodwork when put clean through. The hammering that had - at that point - looked on the cards looked more like a reality when, on the stroke of half-time, Massey failed to come for a cross and Padiham bundled in their third of the match. Half-time, 3-0 Padiham.

The small patches of good play that Cheadle put together in the first half deserted them for the second as the Padiham 'keeper had very little to do and The Storks ran in another two goals. A lobbed effort over Massey's head on 62 minutes and a far-post header on 70 minutes.

All the positives from today were to do with Padiham. We were impressed with the setup they have at the Arbories Memorial Ground, it was probably the friendliest place we had been to all season and they played the better football. There is one saving grace from the day, I suppose - at least Vinnie Braine didn't score against us when he came on....

Roll on Darwen at home on the 21st....

TEAM: Massey, Brokenbrow, B Roberts, Heath (Lee), Logan, Brocklehurst, Riley, Hussain (Renshaw), McDonagh, Martin, Lindon. Subs: Renshaw, Lee, Smith (GK)

Tomorrow's Opponents: Padiham

You know something, I'm not that optimistic about this one tomorrow. On paper, there's too much that could go against us at the Arbories Memorial Ground tomorrow:

* they've only lost one at home all season, and that was to Winsford United
* they're third in the table at the moment and looking a bit useful
* ex-Cheadle forward Vinnie Braine plays for them - he's bound to bloody score, isn't he?
* ...and so does ex-Cheadle midfielder Damien Morrison - he's bound to bloody score, isn't he?
* they've got the psychological advantage over us as they've already knocked us out of the FA Vase this season

But I suppose they have to lose at home again sooner or later, Cheadle don't seem to perform that bad against the sides near the top, our defenders will know Vinnie Braine quite well and defend accordingly, Damien Morrison doesn't score that often and we owe them one for the FA Vase match.

Cheadle will win. I have the faith. Come on Cheadle!

Padiham v Cheadle Town Match Report

I've managed to find a match report on the internet from last Saturday's match at Padiham, courtesy of the Burnley Express newspaper. Click here to read it. By the looks of things Cheadle should have come away with a replay at the very least, but when things aren't going your way....

Best of luck to 'The Storks' of Padiham in the next round against FC United. Revenge will be ours, hopefully, when we meet Padiham again for the league matches!

Padiham 1-0 Cheadle Town

None of the blogging team went to this one today, but one word sums things up: bugger. I'll traipse around on the 'net to see if I can dig out a match report from somewhere.

Just the divisional and league trophies to concentrate on now....

Tomorrow's Opponents: Padiham

Standing inbetween Cheadle Town and a potentially money-spinning FA Vase tie against FC United are 'The Storks' of Padiham FC.

Founded in 1878 Padiham FC, like our very own Cheadle Town, were founder members of the NWCFL in 1982. They had to leave the league back in 1990 and spent ten seasons in the West Lancashire Football League. Their return to the NWCFL for the 2000-2001 season was on the back of a £300,000 refit of the Arbories Memorial Stadium; they have had a decent time of it of late - in 2003 and 2005 they finished in the top four of Div 2.

Unfortunately neither myself or Polardin will be able to travel to Lancashire to cheer the Cheadle boys on. If any of the players or backroom staff are reading this, the best of luck. COME ON CHEADLE...and I'll be back on-the-road for the Winsford United away match on the 30th!