Tuesday 10th September 2024
NWCFL Premier Division
Matchday 8
West Didsbury & Chorlton 4
Lazenbury 1
Own Goal 59
Matthews 62
Darkwah 90+2
South Liverpool 1
Weaver 41(p)
Attendance: 360
West line-up:
1 Martin, 2 Rowney (c), 3 Sutton, 4 Jones, 5 Cole, 6 Whiteoak (14 Hughes HT), 7 Billingsley (16 Wharton 70), 8 Murray, 9 Grimshaw (15 Darkwah HT), 10 Lazenbury, 11 Matthews. Not used: 12 Kenny.
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West continued their recent resurgence on Tuesday night by beating South Liverpool 4-1 at Brookburn Road. The match came only four days after West returned from Longridge Town with a sensational 5-1 victory under their belt, and they wasted little time on Tuesday in picking up where they left off.
It took just 28 seconds for Jordan Lazenbury to build on the hat-trick he scored at Longridge when he opened the scoring from close range. It was a goal that came before many supporters had even taken their positions at Brookburn Road, and when Lazenbury then rattled the crossbar just two minutes later there was a palpable sense around the ground that another emphatic win could be on the cards.
Despite these promising early signs, South Liverpool rallied well and managed to suppress West’s attacking threat. South had only taken one point from their previous six matches but they gradually managed to find their feet and won a penalty just before the break. That penalty was calmly converted by Neil Weaver to level the scores at the end of a half where West seemed to have run out of steam all too quickly.
It was clear that something needed to change to put West back in the driving seat, and that something came via the introduction of half-time substitutes Cameron Darkwah and Connor Hughes. Hughes had only arrived in M21 earlier that day following a move from league leaders Chadderton, and his quality became instantly apparent. His passing ability transformed West’s midfield and led to a far more confident and courageous style of attacking football. A second West goal then felt inevitable and it arrived on the hour mark, albeit in unconventional circumstances as a West freekick was cleared only into the back of a South defender before ricocheting into the net. West’s third goal then came just moments later in a far more familiar fashion. It came courtesy of a trademark Billy Matthews finish as he cut inside from the left before drilling a low shot under the keeper at his near post from 20 yards.
At 3-1 it was just a case of showing the composure needed to see out the game, and West did just that. South Liverpool had no further response, and a first West goal for Cameron Darkwah in second-half stoppage time put the icing on the cake. His glancing header was the final act of a satisfying evening for West, and all eyes now turn to the visit of Darlington in the FA Cup. Having seen their side score nine goals in two games, West fans will begin to dream that the biggest FA Cup upset in the club’s history might just be a possibility after all.
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Listen to manager Paul Marshall's post-match thoughts here:
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Your Burton Road Brewing Co Supporter of the Match was Dave and his Player of the Match was Billy Matthews.
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Browse through our wonderful match galleries, from club photographers:
Nathan Ashmall, Chris Michell, Jack Todd and Christina Bowett.
