Town This Week- Radcliffe Defeat but Cup Run Continues.

Will Adams goal vs Crewe Alexandra

Saturday's defeat...was poor. A game that felt like another must win for Town in their bid to avoid relegation from The National League North, however it would be the visitors who would strengthen their survival hopes by scoring the only goal of the game. The result saw Town go 6 points from safety as Needham Market secured all three points at home to Chorley and the gap became 9 points after Oxford City's win away at South Shields. Town had a chance to rotate the squad (midweek,) as they took on a youthful Crewe Alexandra side with hopes of facing Stalybridge Celtic in the semi-finals of the Cheshire Senior Cup. 

The survival push took a huge knock at the weekend as Town fell short at the hands of a visiting Radcliffe, with the visitors taking home all three points and further strengthening their survival. The game was a reflection of Town's season in a nutshell really. Creating chances and not taking them and even more silly mistakes. A mediocre first half saw neither side break the deadlock with Town having a handful of chances, the best being a header over the bar from Wrexham loanee Aaron James. Radcliffe created a few chances for themselves and pushed on in the second half. The 60th minute saw the only goal of the game. A well struck shot from Greenfield was able to beat Atherton and sit in the back of the net. The goal saw Town push on to try and find an equaliser with new loanee Ben Hatton having two golden chances, but was unable to convert. Deep into added time and Atherton found himself in the familiar position of the opposition box. The keeper managed to have Town's best chance of the game, having a header come off of the post. McDonald was there to try and convert the rebound but his effort was well saved from Radcliffe's shot stopper. In the end it wasn't to be for Town and with 8 games left, it'll take a miracle to keep The Yellow's up.

Onto a lighter note, as Town booked their place into the semi-finals of the Cheshire Senior Cup! The win has The Yellows facing NPL West side Stalybridge Celtic on Tuesday 25th March, with the winner taking on Runcorn Linnets at a neutral venue. The quarter-final fixture against a youthful Crewe Alexandra saw Under-21's striker Will Adams score his first senior goal for the club (as well as game time for Murphy Bennett, Matty Makinson, Dana Amaral and Mo Doro), Bohan Dixon found himself back in the starting 11 alongside Matty McDonald and Ben Hatton making his first start for the club since arriving from Rotherham on loan. Danny Atherton was also able to make two very impressive saves (one in each half) which helped keep his clean sheet intact. If Town were able to beat Stalybridge next week, it would set up a final against NPL West side Runcorn Linnets, at a neutral venue. Despite next week's opposition being 2 divisions below, they cannot be taken lightly as they are 8 time finalists in the competition and have prevailed in those finals twice. In what has been a difficult season for the club, it would be really nice for it to end with a first ever Cheshire Senior Cup for the club.

Overall, relegation is looming over us and it now leaves Saturday's Non-League Day visit to Oxford as a MUST win game. Their win against South Shields leaves us on the brink of the drop and some sort of fight has to be shown if we are to have any glimmer of survival. With the cup, I do believe it's a great opportunity for Town to gain some confidence for next season as well as rewarding the fans with a potential trophy at the end of the season. We keep pushing on though, and if some great escape can be achieved then great! If not though, then let's push to win the Cheshire Senior Cup and give the fans something to be happy about at the end of a disappointing season.