Championship
Dynamo Burnley 3 Northwich Victoria 2
Excelsior Marlow 1 Manchester Central 1
Hungaria 7 Locomotive Crewe Alexandra 2
Liverpool St Helens 8 Audenshaw Dynamo 3
Red Star Mossley 2 Marine 2
Spartak-Slavia 2 Hartlepool Petrochemical 2
Stalybridge Celtic 5 Blyth Spartans 3
Wrexham 2 Gainsborough Trinity 2
Second Division
Crystal Palace 2 Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo 1
Excelsior Benelux 3 Atletico Espanol 1
Manchester Newton Heath 2 Bohemians 1
Marxist Polytechnic 3 Merthyr Tydfil 0
Newcastle Blue Star 2 Caledonia Thistle 1
Sheffield Wednesday 3 Inter-Italiano 1
South Liverpool Red Star 4 Bradford Park Avenue 2
Torpedo Tranmere 3 Hendon Hotspur 2
The goals rained down at leaders Liverpool St Helens, where the home team deluged Audenshaw Dynamo by 8 - 3, a result all the more astonishing considering the visitors, courtesy of a quick two-goal salvo just before half-time, turned an earlier deficit into a 3 - 2 interval advantage, defending reasonably under sustained pressure from the Saints - eager to return to winning ways after last week’s first defeat in nine at Burnley - and counter-attacking with lethal efficiency. Following the break, however, Audenshaw’s dynamism deserted them and they imploded, withering in the face of the renewed onslaught and allowing St Helens to ruthlessly rack-up a further six goals without reply: the stuff of which champions are quite possibly made?
A similar margin of victory, with only slightly fewer goals, as Hungaria, victims of a seven-goal concession to a rampant Marine last Saturday, this time out performed an impressive volte-face and put Locomotive Crewe Alexandra to the very same sword, subjecting their unfortunate opponents to a 7 - 2 ‘revenge’ beating every bit as merciless as that suffered by themselves: the predatory Istvan Kovacz helped himself to four of the Magyars’ total.
Also in the goals but more closely shading a total of eight by 5 - 3 were Stalybridge Celtic, consequently moving up to second in the table and nipping Blyth Spartans recent revival in the bud in the process.
A week on from their thrashing of Hungaria, Marine found themselves under the cosh and were mostly outplayed by Red Star Mossley - unbeaten in four league and cup matches under new boss Tony Mucklethwaite - but the Crosbyites managed to rescue a point from an apparently hopeless position as last-throw-of-the-dice supersub Tegwyn Prothero’s late, late brace scraped a 2 - 2 draw from two goals down: again, such resilience, or the ability to conjure something from seemingly nothing, might suggest that the Mariners are not without certain of the requisite championship-winning credentials too, even if they have dropped a place to third (they are, after all, level with Stalybridge and only a point behind St Helens).
In matters at the wrong end of the table, Dynamo Burnley’s epic comeback 3 - 2 victory over Northwich Victoria courtesy of 86th, 89th and 90th minute strikes to recover a two-goal deficit elevated them from second-bottom to above both Crewe and Audenshaw, adding even more insult to the injury inflicted by the pair’s crushing defeats, with the Alex replacing Burnley in the relegation berth above Hartlepool Petrochemical, who remain firmly anchored at the basement despite a rare point earned in a worthy 2 - 2 draw at Spartak-Slavia who themselves are a little isolated in fourth, three points from third and four clear of fifth.
In the second tier, Marxist Polytechnic’s straightforward 3 - 0 beating of Merthyr Tydfil allowed the students to maintain a three-point lead at the top of the division, whilst Sheffield Wednesday replaced Bohemians in second place, prevailing 3 - 1 over Inter-Italiano, a first win in four, as Bohs lost at Manchester Newton Heath, their first reverse following a four-game winning streak. Torpedo Tranmere followed up their stirring Cup second replay triumph over Dynamo Burnley with a 3 - 2 last-minute edging of Hendon Hotspur to arrest a sequence of three successive league losses to move back within two points of Bohemians.
Of those fighting to remain in the Alliance, South Liverpool Red Star’s renaissance continued with an impressive 4 - 2 defeat of Bradford Park Avenue, affording them the luxury of moving out of the bottom four, Caledonia Thistle slipping into the danger zone instead following their loss at Newcastle Blue Star. Excelsior Benelux also boosted their survival hopes by beating last-placed Atletico Espanol 2 - 1, keeping the pot boiling nicely on what is sure to remain a close-run situation at the wrong end of the table.
No comments:
Post a Comment