Chester & Wirral League
The Chester & Wirral League returned at the weekend after its Christmas back.
But hopes of a full fixture list were dashed by the continued bad weather.
Christleton Celtic moved within four points of top spot in the Queensferry Sports Premier Division after winning their big match 2-1 at home to second-placed Shaftesbury Youth.
Matty Jones and Joe Houghton were on target for fourth-placed Christleton, for whom Dan Astbury was the man of the match.
John McGraa reduced the arrears for Shafts.
Dan Christian, Danny Mongan (2), Jake Zahringer, Ben Woodman and Liam Bradley fired fifth-placed Newton Athletic Youth to a 6-2 success at home to Ellesmere Port Town, for whom Connor Howley and Cal Wall netted.
Three ties took place in the Cayzer Shield second round.
Adie Gough (2), Niall Peaker, Will Balance and Adam Crimes shared the strikes as Cestrian Alex progressed with a 5-3 victory at home to Orange Athletic, whose replies came courtesy of Gary Owen, Mike Sullivan and Iain Thomas.
Clubbies AFC won 6-2 at home to Chester Argyle in a match that was closer than the final scoreline suggests.
Jake Johnson, Nick Whittaker, Scott Beach, Ash Reid and Liam McGovern (2) sent Clubbies through.
But they were pushed all the way by Argyle, for whom Wesley Sinclair struck twice.
Ellesmere Port FC Reserves won 2-0 at higher-division Chester Nomads 3rds thanks to goals from Danny Hale and Adam Smith.
Avenue were the afternoon’s top scorers as they powered to an 8-2 triumph at home to Shotton Steel in Tarvin Precision Vets Division One.
Danny Edwards (3), Lee Gibson (2), Chris Taylor, Terry Cotgrave and Chris McGinn did the damage.
Justin Price got Mostyn’s consolation in their 2-1 loss at Crossway in Tarvin Precision Vets Division Three.
Meanwhile, the league will open its fourth flexi division on Friday.
Teams from across the Wirral will compete in the Friday Night 11s (Woodchurch) Division with a league title and cup up for grabs.
The new division means the league now offer 10 divisions covering open age, vets and flexi football, with a new development division to be added in the coming weeks.
League secretary, Paul Graham, said: “The increase in participation in the 11v11 game in our area is nothing short of incredible and is testament to all the hard work of the volunteers and teams associated with the CWFL.
“It is a pleasure to see that the partnership between the Chester & Wirral League and Cheshire FA has paid dividends with the 11v11 game seeing incredible growth within the league despite declining nationally.
“We are now up to 84 teams and we are looking at further options to keep pace with the demand for the future.”
If you are interesting in joining the league you can contact Paul on 07891 537116 or email
pgraham114@aol.com.
Chester & District Sunday League
Two games beat the weather in the Chester & District Sunday League - including the top-of-the-table clash in Concorde Trophies Section A.
The kick-off in second-placed Westminster’s visit of leaders Spital Vaults was delayed to allow the pitch to thaw.
But it was worth the wait as the top two teams in the top flight played out a cracking encounter.
It was an encounter Spital looked like winning after Aaron Hinchcliffe took his tally for the term up to seven with a brace.
But Westminster battled back to draw 2-2 with late goals from Liam Benson and Sean Weaver.
Glen Reece, Luke James, Collen Mutete and Charlie Cooke did the damage as AFC Tattenhall won 4-0 at home to Travellers Rest in Section B.
Cheshire League
Thomas Millburn was the match-winner as Malpas made the perfect start to 2017 with a thrilling 3-2 victory at Ashton Town in the Cheshire League Premier Division on Saturday.
Malpas were two goals to the good at the break thanks to an Alex Hughes brace.
But Ashton battled back after the restart to restore parity.
And it stayed that way until late on when Millburn scored a superb header to settle the contest.
Deva Athletic lost 3-0 at home to table-topping Daten in Division One.
Daniel Ball and the returning Nick Ball netted as Tarporley Victoria won 2-1 at St Helens Town in Division Two.
Blacon Youth’s scheduled clash at home to Unicorn was rained off.
The previous weekend Blacon won 2-1 at Maine Road Reserves with goals from Joe Henry and Kieran Ball.
West Cheshire League
Upton AA’s five-match winning run came to an end on Saturday as they lost 2-0 at Mallaby in West Cheshire League Division One.
Neston Nomads top the standings after Lewis Clark, Lee Dunbar, Chris Kennedy, Robbie Foulkes and Jake Hulley fired them to a 5-1 home victory over Heswall.
Vauxhall Motors Reserves (Adam Campbell 3, Sean Moorcroft) won 4-2 at Prescot Cables Reserves in Division Two.
There were Division Three defeats for Chester Nomads Reserves (Michele Apollonio), 2-1 at Redgate Rovers Reserves, and Ellesmere Port Town Reserves (Daniel Scott), 11-1 at Marshalls Reserves.
Cheshire Amateur Cup
Vauxhall Motors booked their place in the semi-finals of the Cheshire Amateur Cup with a 3-1 win at home to Congleton Vale on Saturday.
Ex-Congleton striker Jason Carey opened the scoring before Ryan Nightingale bagged an equally well-taken brace.
Motors will take on Dukinfield Town in the last four.
The other semi-final will be contested between Linotype Cheadle Heath Nomads and Knutsford.
Knutsford won their last-eight tie at Ellesmere Port Town (Max Jolly pen) 2-1 on Saturday.
