Football Alliance Cup 2016: Third Round Replay

Stalybridge Celtic 0  Manchester Central 1

Matchday #23: Results and Updated League Tables

Championship

Audenshaw Dynamo 2  Hungaria 2
Blyth Spartans 1  Manchester Central 1
Dynamo Burnley 2  Red Star Mossley 2
Hartlepool Petrochemical 1  Marine 2
Liverpool St Helens 6  Wrexham 2
Locomotive Crewe Alexandra 2  Gainsborough Trinity 4
Northwich Victoria 1  Excelsior Marlow 0
Stalybridge Celtic 4  Spartak-Slavia 1

Second Division

Atletico Espanol 4  Manchester Newton Heath 2
Bohemians 6  Hendon Hotspur 2
Bradford Park Avenue 3  Merthyr Tydfil 2
Crystal Palace 4  Newcastle Blue Star 2
Excelsior Benelux 3  Torpedo Tranmere 3
Inter-Italiano 2 Caledonia Thistle 1
Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo 2  Marxist Polytechnic 1
South Liverpool Red Star 1  Sheffield Wednesday 2



Wins for the top three, defeats for the bottom two and draws for each of the four immediately above result in no changes of place at either ‘business’ end of the Championship table, although Marine in second pulled a point closer - now just one behind - to leaders Stalybridge Celtic thanks, yet again, to a ‘man of the last moment’ Tegwyn Prothero goal proving decisive at doomed but gallant Hartlepool Petrochemical, who took an early lead, were inevitably pegged back but held on until the 90th minute before the Mariners and the deadly Teg broke their resistance with the killer winner. Stalybridge handed-out a 4 - 1 spanking to Spartak-Slavia after their visitors had taken impertinent advantage of Celtic’s opening sluggishness to sneak a goal start, Eoghan Money greedily helping himself to another hat-trick in the process, whilst Liverpool St Helens - fall-guys at Spartak last time out - arrested a two-match losing streak by taking inconsistent Wrexham to the cleaners to the tune of 6 - 2: had not Saints eased-off after establishing a 4 - 0 half-time lead, perhaps preserving energy for potentially sterner tests ahead, Wrexham could easily have been on course to concede something in the region of the nine goals they hammered past hapless Blyth Spartans last weekend.

Today, Blyth’s draw at home to Manchester Central enabled each to edge a point clearer of the relegation places, remaining above both the Dynamic duo Audenshaw and Burnley, whose respective ties with Hungaria and Red Star Mossley put three points between them and second-bottom Locomotive Crewe Alexandra, losers at home to Gainsborough Trinity, themselves emerging from a recent trough with a second four-goal winning salvo in four days, demonstrating admirable stamina in addition to an impressive strike-rate following their midweek extra-time Cup-Winners’ Cup comeback victory against the Finns Kuusysi Lahti.

Finally, Northwich Victoria moved back above Wrexham and into the top half of the table after a solitary goal proved sufficient to overcome Excelsior Marlow, which the losers might almost regard as something of a moral victory following last season’s 1 - 7 humbling at the Vics, the epitome of the trauma the then-defending champions were suffering.

In the Second Division, it proved to be a perfect day for Sheffield Wednesday as their hard-fought 2 - 1 victory at South Liverpool Red Star, secured but a couple of minutes from time, both brought them three points closer in second place to leaders Marxist Polytechnic, shock losers at lowly Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo, and took them a further two clear of Torpedo Tranmere who shared six goals at also-struggling Excelsior Benelux, thus opening up the comparative luxury of a four-point gap on third position and the separation between promotion success and failure.

In fourth, Bohemians arrested a losing streak by hitting Hendon Hotspur, with whom they had begun proceedings level on points, for six, whilst Crystal Palace in sixth caught up with Hendon after scoring four of the six goals in their match against Newcastle Blue Star.

Bradford Park Avenue kept pace in seventh, beating Merthyr Tydfil by the odd goal in five.

Atletico Espanol enjoyed a second successive home victory, 4 - 2 over  Manchester Newton Heath this time, but despite this relative burst of form remain bottom as a consequence of Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo’s highly unlikely win, their only consolation being that, like the Geordies, they have gained two points on the safety cut-off. Caledonia Thistle also remain in deep trouble at third-bottom, suffering a narrow defeat at Inter-Italiano, consistent with their away form that has so far seen the Anglo-Scots fail to record even a single victory on the road, in common with only the two sides below them.

European Club Cups Results (First Round, Second Leg)

European Champion Clubs' Cup

Atletico Madrid 3  Grasshoppers Zurich 0 (aet)  (agg. 5 - 4)
Borac Banja Luka 5  Hibernian 1  (agg. 5 - 2)
Dynamo Dresden 5  Rapid Vienna 5 (aet)  (agg. 6 - 8)
Dynamo Minsk 6  Stromsgodset Drammen 0  (agg. 7 - 3)
Ferencvaros 7  Wisla Krakow 1  (agg. 9 - 3)
Hajduk Split 1  Ajax Amsterdam 0  (agg. 2 - 5)
Internazionale 3  Levski-Spartak Sofia 0  (agg. 5 - 1)
Karpaty Lvov 2  Kischpelt Welwerwolz 2  (agg. 7 - 2)
Red Star Belgrade 5  Panathinaikos 3 (aet)  (agg. 8 - 9)
RWD Molenbeek 3  Glentoran 0  (agg. 3 - 1)
Saint-Etienne 3  Werder Bremen 1  (aet)  (agg. 3 - 3)
Slavia Prague 3  Oster Vaxjo 3  (agg. 5 - 3)
Sporting Lisbon 2  Trabzonspor 1  (agg. 3 - 1)
Stalybridge Celtic 3  Spartak Moscow 2  (agg. 6 - 4)
Valkeakosken Haka 4  FC Copenhagen 1  (agg. 6 - 4)
Vasas Budapest 8  Petrolul Ploiesti 1  (agg. 10 -2)


European Cup-Winners' Cup

Boavista Porto 2  Raba ETO Gyor 1  (agg. 5 - 6)
Bodo/Glimt 1  St Polten 1  (agg. 3 - 2)
Bohemians Prague 2  Olympiakos Piraeus 0  (agg. 4 - 1)
Borussia Monchengladbach 3  KRC Genk 6  (agg. 3 - 9)
Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk 5  Excelsior Rotterdam 1 (aet)  (agg. 7 - 5)
Finn Harps 1  Dynamo Moscow 1  (agg. 2 - 3)
Gainsborough Trinity 4  Kuusysi Lahti 1 (aet)  (agg. 5 - 4)
Galatasaray 3  Brondby 1  (agg. 8 - 2)
US Hostert 0  Barcelona 4  (agg. 2 - 10)
Hutnik Krakow 1  Dubocica Leskovac 3  (agg. 3 - 8)
Malmo FF 3  FC Magdeburg 2 (aet)  (agg. 3 - 3)
Partick Thistle 2  Sportul Studentsc 1 (aet)  (agg. 2 - 1)
Servette Geneva 4  Velez Mostar 3 (aet)  (agg. 6 - 7)
Stade de Reims 4  Flamurtari Vlore 2  (agg. 9 - 5)
Torino 3  Lokomotiv Sofia 3 (aet)  (agg. 5 - 6)
Tresnjevka Zagreb 0  Ararat Yerevan 1  (agg. 1 - 4)
 

Matchday #22: Results and Updated League Tables

Championship

Excelsior Marlow 5  Locomotive Crewe Alexandra 3

Gainsborough Trinity 2  Marine 2

Hungaria 2  Dynamo Burnley 1

Manchester Central 6  Hartlepool Petrochemical 1

Red Star Mossley 6  Northwich Victoria 3

Sparta-Slavia 2  Liverpool St Helens 0

Stalybridge Celtic 4  Audenshaw Dynamo 2

Wrexham 9  Blyth Spartans 2

 



Second Division

Hendon Hotspur 2  Caledonia Thistle 1

Manchester Newton Heath 0  Crystal Palace 1

Marxist Polytechnic 5  Bohemians 0

Merthyr Tydfil 5  Inter-Italiano 2

Newcastle Blue Star 3  Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo 2

Sheffield Wednesday 3  Excelsior Benelux 1

South Liverpool Red Star 4  Atletico Espanol 3

Torpedo Tranmere 3  Bradford Park Avenue 2

 

 

A win - draw - loss return for each of the top three respectively has resulted in the field becoming slightly more spread out after the current round of fixtures. Apparently suffering no ill-effects following their midweek European Champions’ Cup trip to Moscow - from which they returned splendidly victorious, of course - leaders Stalybridge Celtic negotiated a typically feisty derby with Audenshaw Dynamo to emerge on top by 4 - 2 courtesy of two decisive strikes in the final 10 minutes and earn the two precious points that extend their advantage to the same. Second-placed Marine remain so with a point gained courtesy of another comeback draw, this time at Gainsborough, arch-brinksman Tegwyn Prothero again popping up to poach an equaliser at the death to deny Trinity a morale-boosting victory after two cup losses, the first most-shockingly-ever at home to Bootle White Star in the domestic competition and terminal to their status as holders, the second a two-goal reverse in Finland in the first leg of their inaugural Cup-Winners’ Cup tie that has cast considerable doubt on Gainsborough’s chances of progressing in Europe. Erstwhile front-runners Liverpool St Helens, victims of Stalybridge in a potentially pivotal result last weekend, suffered a second successive loss to nil, well beaten at Spartak-Slavia who thus pulled to within two points of the Saints, admirably fourth in their debut season in the top flight. A point behind the Anglo-Slavs are Red Star Mossley, still unbeaten in both league and cup under new boss Tony Mucklethwaite, this time subjecting Northwich Victoria to an impressive 6 - 3 tonking, with, to be fair, the Vics playing their part in a scintillating goalfest, even holding a 2 - 1 lead at one point before being blown away by a four goals in ten minutes salvo from Red Star.

Hungaria leapfrogged Gainsborough following a narrow and highly-contentious 2 - 1 win against Dynamo Burnley, whose only consolation was that none of their rivals in the danger zone picked up points either, Audenshaw immediately above going down at Stalybridge of course, Locomotive Crewe Alexandra just below in the second demotion spot taking a 5 - 3 beating at Excelsior Marlow - now firmly and safely ensconced in mid-table following last season’s relegation-threatened traumas - and rock-bottom Hartlepool Petrochemical being thrashed 6 - 1 at Manchester Central, which latter result enabled the Mancs to record a first league victory of the year, halting their inexorably downward spiral, and thus exchange places with Blyth Spartans, who turned in a shamefully shambolic non-performance at Wrexham and consequently suffered a season’s-worst 9 - 2 humiliation to follow the disappointment of last weekend’s Cup elimination.

The Second Division’s top-four clash saw Marxist Polytechnic assert their leadership in ruthless fashion, the students exposing increasingly-flaky Bohemians’ promotion pretensions with a 5 - 0 thrashing and maintaining their five-point advantage over Sheffield Wednesday in the process, the Owls eventually overcoming struggling Excelsior Benelux 3 - 1 after trailing for the greater part of an hour. Torpedo Tranmere made it a hat-trick of wins for the top three by squeezing past Bradford Park Avenue 3 - 2, also coming from behind to do so. Hendon Hotspur joined Bohemians in joint-fourth with another narrow victory margin, 2- 1 against visitors Caledonia Thistle, who remain third-bottom and very much in danger. There was no change, indeed, at the wrong end of the table, with four of the starting bottom five losing by the odd goal, Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo 2 - 3 in the derby at Blue Star, Atletico Espanol 3 - 4 in a thriller at South Liverpool Red Star - whose recent surge has taken them to the heady heights of mid-table - and Manchester Newton Heath going down to a single smash-and-grab goal at home to Crystal Palace. Elsewhere, Merthyr Tydfil recovered some self-respect following their previous 10 - 2 pasting at Hendon to mistreat their guests Inter-Italiano to the tune of 5 - 2, exchanging mid-table places with Inter in the process.



 

 





European Club Cups Results (First Round, First Leg)

European Champion Clubs' Cup

Ajax Amsterdam 5  Hajduk Split 1
FC Copenhagen 3  Valkeakosken Haka 2
Glentoran 1  RWD Molenbeek 0
Grasshoppers Zurich 4  Atletico Madrid 2
Hibernian 1  Borac Banja Luka 0
Kischpelt Welwerwolz 0  Karpaty Lvov 5
Levski-Spartak Sofia 1  Internazionale 2
Oster Vaxjo 0  Slavia Prague 2
Panathinaikos 6  Red Star Belgrade 3
Petrolul Ploiesti 1  Vasas Budapest 2
Rapid Vienna 3  Dynamo Dresden 1
Spartak Moscow 2  Stalybridge Celtic 3
Stromsgodset Drammen 3  Dynamo Minsk 1
Trabzonspor 0  Sporting Lisbon 1
Werder Bremen 2  Saint-Etienne 0
Wisla Krakow 2  Ferencvaros 2

European Cup-Winners' Cup

Ararat Yerevan 3  Tresnjevka Zagreb 1
Barcelona 6  US Hostert 2
Brondby 1  Galatasaray 5
Dubocica Leskovac 5  Hutnik Kralow 2
Dynamo Moscow 2  Finn Harps 1
Excelsior Rotterdam 4  Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk 2
Flamurtari Vlore 3  Stade de Reims 5
KRC Genk 3  Borussia Monchengladbach 0
Kuusysi Lahti 3  Gainsborough Trinity 1
Lokomotiv Sofia 3  Torino 2
FC Magdeburg 1  Malmo FF 0
Olympiakos Piraeus 1  Bohemians Prague 2
Raba ETO Gyor 5  Boavista Porto 3
St Polten 1  Bodo/Glimt 2
Sportul Studentsc 0  Partick Thistle 0
Velez Mostar 4  Servette Geneva 2
 

Football Alliance Cup 2016: Third Round

Audenshaw Dynamo 1  Torpedo Tranmere 2
Blyth Spartans 0  Spartak-Slavia 2
Crystal Palace 4  Northwich Victoria 3
Gainsborough Trinity 0  Bootle White Star 1
Liverpool St Helens 1  Excelsior Marlow 0
Manchester Central 0  Stalybridge Celtic 0
Marine 4  Coventry Sporting 0
Red Star Mossley 4  Hartlepool Petrochemical 1

Matchday #21: Results and Updated League Tables

Championship

Audenshaw Dynamo 4  Dynamo Burnley 2
Blyth Spartans 4  Spartak-Slavia 1
Gainsborough Trinity 5  Manchester Central 2
Hartlepool Petrochemical 0  Wrexham 2
Liverpool St Helens 0  Stalybridge Celtic 1
Locomotive Crewe Alexandra 1  Red Star Mossley 2
Marine 4  Excelsior Marlow 0
Northwich Victoria 1  Hungaria 2

Second Division

Atletico Espanol 3  Crystal Palace 1
Bohemians 0  Newcastle Blue Star 1
Bradford Park Avenue 2  Sheffield Wednesday 2
Caledonia Thistle 1  Marxist Polytechnic 5
Excelsior Benelux 0  South Liverpool Red Star 2
Hendon Hotspur 10  Merthyr Tydfil 2
Inter-Italiano 1  Torpedo Tranmere 2
Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo 3  Manchester Newton Heath 2

 

Pivotal. That could well be the word to describe Stalybridge Celtic’s 1 - 0 win at Liverpool St Helens, a single goal, inevitably and unerringly scored by Eoghan Money, in a closely-fought contest of few genuine chances enabling the reigning champions to replace Saints as leaders of the pack, exactly the type of result against a direct rival that ultimately decides fates and the destination of honours. St Helens’ defeat was rendered all the more costly, as the two points gained from Marine’s comfortable 4 - 0 victory over Excelsior Marlow moved Crosby’s finest up into second place above their local rivals, Tegwyn Prothero following up last weekend’s rescue-act brace of goals with a hat-trick this time out.

Wins for Red Star Mossley, Gainsborough Trinity and Hungaria enabled each to gain a little on Spartak-Slavia, who remain fourth, but now four points adrift of the top three, despite a 4 - 1 beating at Blyth Spartans which elevated the victors to the heady heights of eleventh position, further clear of danger, leapfrogging Manchester Central, Gainsborough’s victims, in the process. In the relegation places, Hartlepool Petrochemical’s and Locomotive Crewe Alexandra’s home defeats, to Wrexham and Mossley respectively, leaves matters unchanged, but Audenshaw’s rip-roaring 4 - 2 win over Burnley in the battle of the Dynamos resulted in the two exchanging third- and fourth-bottom places two points above the basement pair, again, as at the top of the table, a potentially critical outcome.

 

Of those challenging to replace those eventually relegated from the Championship, Marxist Polytechnic cemented their position atop the Second Division even more firmly with a devastating 5 - 1 win at Caledonia Thistle that confirms the Anglo-Scots as being deep in danger of departing the division via the other route, back down to the regional leagues.  Sheffield Wednesday’s 2- 2 Yorkshire derby draw at Bradford Park Avenue maintains their second position, albeit two points further adrift of the student leaders. Wednesday remain two points clear of third, but that berth is now occupied by resurgent Torpedo Tranmere, whose last-gasp 2- 1 win at Inter-Italiano enabled them to move above Bohemians, who suffered a second successive league loss, on this occasion surprisingly at home to Newcastle Blue Star.

South Liverpool Red Star’s renaissance continues courtesy of a 2 - 0 win at Excelsior Benelux, who remain fourth bottom but now three points adrift of safety. Unusually, both of the bottom two won, Atletico Espanol beating Crystal Palace most impressively, 3 - 1, and Newcastle-Gateshead Dynamo edging Manchester Newton Heath 3 - 2, although both clubs remain in grave danger of the drop as games begin to run out.