Saturday 26 October 2024
NWCFL Premier Division
Matchday 17
West Didsbury & Chorlton 3
Hughes 21, 37
Lazenbury 40
FC St Helens 1
Barker 83
Attendance: 895
West line-up:
1 Martin, 2 Rowney, 3 Sutton, 4 McConnell, 5 Riley, 6 Hughes (12 Kenny 61), 7 Darkwah (15 Grimshaw 75), 8 Murray, 9 Dass (14 Billingsley 61), 10 Lazenbury, 11 Matthews (16 Wharton 68). Subs not used: 15 Yarwood.
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Three goals in just under 20 first-half minutes sealed the points for West as they completed a league double over FC St Helens on a fine afternoon in M21.
West entered the match one point and one place behind their Merseyside opponents, who had not lost a game since being beaten 1-0 by West at the end of September. Manager Paul Marshall was forced into a number of personnel changes following the defeat at Barnoldswick Town in midweek, largely due to the suspensions of Victor Abadaki and Zak Bailey. Those absences meant that West came out with a slightly unfamiliar spine to their team, as wide players Jack McConnell and Reuben Dass filled in at centre-back and centre-forward respectively. In addition, Cameron Darkwah was a late replacement for Jack Banister as the winger picked up an injury shortly before kick off.
With the clocks due to go back at midnight, Brookburn Road was bathed in sunshine throughout the afternoon for perhaps the last time in 2024. The early exchanges were cagey, however, as both sides struggled to get an early foothold in the match. The first decisive moment came in the 21st minute. West started an attack down the left-hand side and Jordan Lazenbury was played in close to the byline. The angle was too tight for a shot and the West forward cleverly checked back inside and played a ball into the middle for the late-arriving Connor Hughes to rifle in from close range to give West the lead.
That goal seemed to relax the home side and FC St Helens suddenly seemed vulnerable at the back. West continued to get forward but struggled to create a clear-cut opportunity to give themselves that two-goal buffer. That was until the 37th minute however, as West found themselves in the driving seat following a moment of sublime quality from their number 6. It was Lazenbury again who teed Hughes up for the shot, and his effort from 30 yards curled high and wide before dropping down into the top corner of the net for another contender in what will be a tighly-contested goal of the season competition.
The crowd of 895 inside Brookburn Road then barely had time to catch their breath before West added a third. The goal came courtesy of Jordan Lazenbury after his two earlier assists. Max Sutton was the creator this time as he picked up the ball in the final third and played a ball across the 6-yard box. Lazenbury was then waiting in the middle to deftly volley his shot under the visiting goalkeeper for his 13th goal of the season.
West took that three-goal lead into the half-time interval with the knowledge that the match was all but won. The visitors however did come out with a new look to them as manager Mike Smith made all five of his substitutes during the half-time break, and his dejected-looking side were sent out on to the field almost ten minutes before the restart. Those changes did have some effect and it was the visitors who looked the stronger in the second half, although they did play a chunk of the early stages with ten men as half-time substitute Josh Hall was sin-binned for dissent within two minutes of being introduced. The second half was played at an undeniably slower pace though and the first real moment of significance didn't come until the 83rd minute. That was when the Stripes pulled one back through Joseph Barker as he scored his 14th goal in 13 league games this season.
That goal did not mark the beginning of a comeback though, and it was in fact West who looked more likely to grab the game's fifth goal as substitute Ben Wharton tested the goalkeeper twice in the final moments. After that it was largely a case of running down the clock, and the referee eventually called time on a West win that meant they leapfrogged the visitors into 6th place.
It was a result that obviously pleased manager Paul Marshall, and he was keen to praise the performance of Connor Hughes after his brace. Marshall confirmed that "that was the Connor [he'd] known was always there" and that he expects to see more of those kind of long-range efforts. West now travel to strugglers Prestwich Heys on Tuesday night to play one of the games in hand they have on those around them. A win in that match will move West above FC Isle of Man and into the playoff places.
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We spoke to West manager Paul Marshall after the game:
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Your Burton Road Brewing Co Supporter of the Match was India and her Player of the Match was Connor Hughes.
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Browse through our wonderful match galleries, from club photographers:
Nathan Ashmall, Chris Michell, Jack Todd and Christina Bowett.
