Photos from Stoneclough v Breightmet United

 

A highly entertaining game which both sides fully contributed to. The first half saw Stoneclough have the better of the early stages and while Breightmet came into the game later on in the half, the difference between the two sides was at the front. Breightmet rarely tested the home keeper while Stoneclough always looked likely to score. The opening goal came in the 23rd minute when a left sided cross found Nicky Fisher with space in the area. Kane Bentley added a second on 31 minutes when a throw-in on the left saw the ball worked along the edge of the area before the Stoneclough man unleashed a powerful drive which was in the back of the net before anyone moved. Fisher got his second just before half time when the ball was sent into the Breightmet area and the visiting defence struggled to clear. Fisher moved out into space on the left side of the area and when the ball came to him he simply blasted it home.

The second half was barely two minutes old when Stoneclough added their fourth. A left sided cross was turned in by Bentley, though it's not certain quite how much he knew about it as he went in with a defender in close contact. On the hour Fisher claimed his hat-trick when he headed home a left sided corner. For everything that was going on, Breightmet never gave up, they kept working hard and tried to get something from the match. They were rewarded on 70 minutes when a corner was about to be gathered by Stoneclough's keeper when a defender got in the way and attempted to clear. The ball only went as far as Dave Haslem on the edge of the area and he hit a shot over the defence, off the underside of the bar and in. The final goal came with ten minutes remaining. Steven Harrison collected the ball on the right wing half way inside Breightmets half. He ran past two defenders and into the area before letting fly.

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