Saturday 30th March 2019, NWCFL Premier Division

West 1 (Miranda 90+4)
Squires Gate 2 (Boyd 1, Seear 34)
Att: 243

West slipped further into the mire as they fell to another dispiriting defeat, this time against Squires Gate.

David Powell’s side made an appalling start at Brookburn Road, conceding after just 15 seconds, and Ric Seear doubled Gate’s lead before half time to ensure Ezequiel Miranda’s spectacular strike was a mere consolation.

Realistically, West had to beat Gate to keep their survival hopes on the realistic side, but they never looked likely to record a first win since January. The tone was set immediately, and when Gate stole the ball in West’s right channel, James Boyd was free to head the resulting cross past Will Jones and give the visitors an instant lead.

Ramirez Howarth forced a sprawling stop from Gate keeper Maxwell Povey, but West’s response was unconvincing at best at the visitors doubled their lead just after the half-hour. West failed to deal with a Gate counter-attack, and Seear finished emphatically when he was allowed to shoot from the edge of the box.

The second half drifted by with West apparently in a stupor and it took until the 78th minute before the home team threatened to get back into the game. Howarth again went close, cutting inside and whipping a shot wide of the far post. Substitute Divine Shanganya was then unable to force the ball over the line after Will Dunne hit the post, but West did score with the final act of the game, and in aesthetic terms it was worth waiting for – Miranda pounced on a loose ball 30 yards from goal and his shot flew past the helpless Povey and into the roof of the net.

There was no time to force an equaliser, though, and West now lie six points behind Hanley Town with four games remaining.

West: Jones, Sergeant, Miranda, Bourne (Peach 72), Eckersley, Eiselt, Uchegbulam, Gavin (Cooper 86), McLaughlin (Shanganya 72), Dunne, Howarth. Not used: Horner, Shaw.