Weekend football round-up: Celtic see off Wythy

Stalybridge Celtic moved into the NPL West play-off positions on Saturday after a comfortable 4-1 win at home to Wythenshawe Town. 

The hosts took a two-goal lead into the break after Ruben Jerome curled in the opener on three minutes before Andy Scarisbrick swept in his first Celtic goal ten minutes later. 

The visitors started the second half brightly, with Demi Rhami halving the deficit from the spot, but any hopes of a comeback were virtually extinguished when former Celtic midfielder Domaine Rouse was shown a red card just past the hour, capping off his miserable return to Bower Fold. 

Wythenshawe Town boss Chris Willcock – who had an equally bleak return to his former club – then saw his side fall further behind, with Scarisbrick turning in his second of the afternoon before Jack Irlam added a fourth, sealing a comprehensive victory. 

“I’m delighted with the win,” said a pleased Jon Macken at full-time. 

“It’s three points, and it’s good reaction from last Saturday. 

“First half we totally dominated, but we were disappointed with the start we had in the second half. 

“We started slow, and against other opposition that might cause us a few issues, but overall, I’m delighted with the three points and the scoreline too.” 

Elsewhere, Ashton United came from behind twice to see off NPL Premier strugglers Morpeth Town at Hurst Cross. 

A quickfire double from Enock Lusiama saw The Robins move within a point of the NPL Premier play-offs. 

The visitors opened the scoring in bizarre circumstances, with Mitch Hancox’s inswinging corner flying over the head of Jordan Eastham and directly in, before Ashton player assistant-manager Sean Newton levelled from the spot just after the break. 

The parity would only last for a matter of minutes though as Daniel Myers’ header restored Morpeth’s lead just past the hour mark. 

With eight minutes left, Lusiama turned in at the back post to level the scoring, before poking The Robins in front two minutes from time, but there was still time for even more late drama. 

Deep into added time, the visitors were presented with a lifeline after the referee pointed to the spot, only for Luke James to blaze over from 12 yards, much to the delight of the Hurst Cross crowd. 

“I think I’ve just aged another 10 years,” joked Robins boss Steve Cunningham after the final whistle. 

“We were outstanding today, the problem is that we’re giving poor goals away. 

“But what I will say is the character of the players today, to come back, was brilliant.” 

Their Ashton counterparts, Curzon Ashton, made it through to the third round of the FA Trophy with a narrow 1-0 win at Ilkeston Town. 

Alex Curran’s second half penalty was enough to see The Nash go one step further than they did in last season’s competition. 

Mark Bradshaw’s side could, and perhaps should have gone into half-time leading after Tony Weston spurned a golden opportunity. 

The forward found himself 1v1 with Ilkeston goalkeeper Alfie Roberts, showing great composure to take the ball around him before steering his effort wide with the goal gaping. 

The shot stopper was at the heart of the action once again in the second half, flying off his line and cleaning out the onrushing Brad Holmes, resulting in the referee awarding a spot kick. 

Curran stepped up and made no mistake, arrowing the ball into the bottom right corner to seal his side’s place in the next round. 

“You have to be happy to go through, that’s what you come here for,” said a satisfied Mark Bradshaw following the win. 

“Could we have been better with the ball? Certainly. 

“But the overriding factor is that we got through, and we’re in the hat for the next round, which is the most important thing.” 

Meanwhile, Mossley and Kidsgrove Athletic shared the points after a six-goal thriller at Seel Park. 

All six strikes came in an enthralling second half, with Reece Webb-Foster smashing home from the spot in added time to round off a topsy turvy afternoon. 

The Lilywhites went ahead initially just ahead of the hour when Obua Mugalula finished off a superb move before Rio Alston fired in a second minutes later. 

A quickfire double from the visitors then saw them go back level, with Matt Rhead heading home 15 minutes from time before Kidsgrove skipper Jack Bromfield tapped in the equaliser two minutes later. 

Macauley Taylor then completed the turnaround with six minutes left on the clock, only for Webb-Foster to restore the parity for the final time with virtually the last kick of the game. 

“Mainly disappointment to be honest,” said Mossley boss Alex Craddock when asked on his feelings at full-time. 

“We’re really disappointed with our performance today. 

“It reminded me of what we looked like at the start of the season, in a lot of different ways. 

“We’ll have to reflect, watch it back, and figure out why that is.” 

In the NWCFL Premier, Glossop North End made it five straight wins with a 2-1 win at Burscough, their first such run since 2017. 

The Hillmen took a deserved lead into the break after Ethan Sutcliffe flicked home the opener on 34 minutes, before hosts Burscough hit back early in the second half through Kian Bell’s header. 

But Abdul Djalo fired in the decisive goal 19 minutes from time to extend GNE’s winning run to five and get Lee Wilshaw’s permanent reign off to a flying start.  

“They’re difficult opposition, and we knew we had to stay in the game for a long period," said Wilshaw following the victory. 

“I think we caught them out with our shape a little bit, we were able to nullify anything through the middle. 

“The game was gonna be won or lost based on how good our full-backs were against their two wingers, and fortunately we’ve managed to pull two really good performances out the bag. 

“Then it was just about what we could do on the transition when we went forward, and we were really clinical – it's a fantastic result.”   

Finally, in the NPL Premier, Hyde United slipped to their third straight defeat, falling to a 4-1 loss at home to Warrington Town. 

Despite a bright opening 45 minutes, the Tigers found themselves trailing 3-1 at the break. 

The visitors went ahead with just two minutes on the clock, with Max Thompson heading home from close range before Hyde found an instant response through Antoine Makoli, who fired into the bottom left corner to draw his side level. 

The yellows then regained the lead against the run of play just before the half-hour mark, when Jack Doyle’s corner was glanced into his own net by the unfortunate Max Harrop. 

The home side’s misery was then compounded on the stroke of half-time when Thompson added his second, turning in from close range after great work from Niall Watson down the left ended with a perfectly weighted cutback from which the forward couldn’t miss. 

Despite a promising start to the second period, Martin Coyne’s side were once again punished by a ruthless Warrington frontline, with Watson turning from provider to goalscorer, racing in behind before sweeping the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper to put the result beyond any doubt. 

Following the defeat, Coyne told the Reporter: 

“If you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, you’re going to come away with scorelines like that, especially if you make the mistakes that we made. 

“I think the score does reflect the game in that respect, but if you look at it in terms of possession, then it doesn’t.  

“We had more of the ball, it’s just in the final third, we didn’t do what we needed to do.”