Bedians Through to Round Two

It was back to full action after Storm Amy and there were some catch-up County Cup games including the Manchester Challenge Trophy, which saw Bedians host Denton Town, former L&C stars and now in the top level of the Cheshire League.

Bedians showed their intent as they took the lead on two minutes but Denton were quickly level and this was the pattern of the game with Bedians winning a 4-3 thriller to move into round two where they will meet another former L&C team Moorside Rangers.

Didsbury Reserves hosted AFC Oldham Reserves in the Manchester Amateur Cup in another thriller which ended at 3-3 with Didsbury winning the penalty shoot-out 4-3.

Also going through were Moorside with a big 7-1 win at Eccles United u23’s and Heywood St James 3-1 over Altrincham Hale Thirds.

Tintwistle Athletic Reserves played in the Derbyshire Cup North and were edged out 3-2 by Hathersage.

Premier Division action resulted in an intriguing early season title picture with four teams level at the top on 12 points.

Chadderton Cott lead the way after a 3-1 win at Trafford United and Bollington Uinted are in the top four even though they had no game.

Rushford Park have a game in hand on their rivals, and they were very impressive in a 4-0 win over Manchester South End while AFC Oldham also have a game in hand as they did not have a fixture.

The other game in the division saw Manchester Rose win 4-2 at Richmond Rovers.

The top two in Division One weren’t in league action and Rochdalians closed the gap on them as they preserved their unbeaten record with a close 2-1 win over Withington Wanderers.

There was an action-packed game at AFC Stockport who recovered from 4-2 down at the break against Stretford Paddock Ams to stage a tremendous recovery and win 6-4.

It was also breathless at Mellor who emerged with a 4-3 win over Oldham Hulmeians.

There was a shock for Division Two high-flyers Manchester Rovers who could only fire blanks as they hosted Saddleworth 3D who scored the only goal of a hard-fought game.

Moston Brook Reserves moved to the top of the table with an efficient 4-1 win over Bury Ams and the top scoring game saw Abacus Media Reserves beat Old Alts Thirds 5-3.

The other game saw Elton Fold defeat South Manchester 2-0.

There was another shock in Division Three as 100% leaders Timperley Villa lost out 3-0 at Fitton Hill All-Stars with the winners moving level with Stoconians and three points behind Villa with a game in hand.

Waterhead enjoyed an efficient 4-1 win at Trafford United Reserves and Spurley Hey shared the spoils with Moston Brook Thirds in a 2-2 deadlock.

Division A leaders Signol Athletic were held to a 3-3 draw hosting Rushford Park Reserves and AFC Salford closed the gap on the leaders to a point with a 3-1 win at Newton Vikings.

Prestwich Marauders were too hot for Silver Birch to handle in a big 8-1 win and Cheadle and Gatley were also big hitters on the day with a 7-1 win over Heyside.

There were also plenty of goals at Village Manchester Reserves who lost out 5-4 to visitors Urmston Meadowside.

In Division B, Stoconians Reserves are flying high with a 4-1 win over Richmond Rovers Reserves giving them a four-point lead.

With two games in hand on Stoconians Santos U23, despite missing a host of regulars, beat Manchester Victoria 4-2.

Santos started brightly, with Curtis Sulcas and Jake Marsland strikes putting the hosts in command.

However, a free kick and penalty from the visitors made it all square at the interval.

Zakiullah Azizi put Santos back in front before a second from Sulcas made sure of victory.

Bury Ams B are level on points with Santos after a comfortable 6-1 win over AFC Oldham A.

Waterhead Reserves raced into a 5-0 interval lead against Moston Brook Fourths and added two more unanswered goals in the second half.

It was also seventh heaven for Oldham Hulmeians Reserves with a 7-1 win at Cavaliers to complete a goalfest in the division.