Stalybridge Celtic 0 Vauxhall Motors 1
SUPER sub Louis Moss scored an 89th-minute winner on Saturday as Motors ended their barren run of five defeats on the spin.
It was a real smash and grab success at Bower Fold, as boss Carl Macauley later admitted.
He said: “We’ve soaked up an awful lot of pressure but there was no time that I felt the game was going to get away from us.
“We continued to plug away and got our reward thanks to a clever finish from Louis Moss. Celtic will feel they’ve been unlucky but that’s football for you.”
The early chances were all for the home side, with Lewis Hatch unleashing a fierce drive which hit Craig Ellison’s left-hand post. Jonny Lindsay fired over the bar and Tom Buckley dragged a shot wide.
Motors improved in the second half and were unlucky when debutant striker Ashley Stott – signed last week from Witton Albion – was inches away from converting a teasing left-wing cross from David Thompson.
At the other end, Andy Nicholas did well to block a point-blank header from Dennis Sheriff, then Hatch clipped the bar on 70 minutes.
Just two minutes later, Hatch was sent off for a poor challenge on Motors’ new signing Louis Barnes.
Stalybridge still pressed for a winner, but were caught out a minute from time when Robbie Booth’s cross was headed home by Moss.
Vauxhall: Ellison, Wainwright, Barnes (Moss 72), Hannigan, Nicholas, Fearnehough, Booth, Noone (Clair 85), Rutter, Stott, Thompson
Subs: Burns, Kocsis, Jones.
Attendance: 331.
The Motormen welcome Boston United to Rivacre Park this Saturday (3pm).