BARNTON have come unstuck at Poynton's tight little ground in the past but it couldn't squeeze anything out of them on Saturday.

A good first-half performance laid the foundation for the champions to build up their lead at the top to five points with a 2-0 win.

Barnton took the lead on 15 minutes. Adrian Brodigan's corner was cleared back to him and he hit a far-post cross on to the head of Paul Nelson, who headed home.

Mark Tomlinson and Dave Murray brought good saves out of Poynton keeper Peter Chamberlain, but the second goal arrived a minute before half-time.

Murray took a free-kick on the edge of the box and Chamberlain spilled the ball at the feet of Mark Heywood, who nipped in to score.

In the second half, the home side pushed more men up front but the Barnton defence stood strong and were equal to the task of keeping a clean sheet.

Barnton: Fortune, Starchievski (Denson, 82 mins), Fraser, Jones, Nelson, Murray, Milne, Heywood, Asprey (Knop, 74 mins), Brodigan (Warburton, 50 mins), Tomlinson.

THIS Saturday, Barnton take on Willaston at home in the second round of the Cheshire Amateur Cup (2pm).

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.