Linotype Reserves 1

Lostock Gralam 3

green mid cheshire 2

LOSTOCK Gralam stayed in touch with the division's top teams with a 3-1 win at Linotype Reserves.

A goal after just eight minutes gave Lostock a superb start.

Good work by Peers and Birtles earned Lostock a throw from near the corner. Birtles' long throw-in was headed goalward by Paul Lightfoot, only to be cleared off the line.

But the clearance fell to Howman on the edge of the box and he shrugged off a challenge to fire the ball in from 20 yards.

Lostock dominated for the next 15 minutes, but the chances which fell to Lightfoot, Kimber and Rogers all went narrowly wide.

Late in the half Linotype managed some pressure, but they found Lostock keeper Wyatt in fine form, pulling off three inspired diving saves.

The early part of the second half was more even, with Linotype keeping Lostock on the back foot, and Wyatt was again called into action, stopping a goalbound shot from McCabe with a diving save at the foot of a post.

Lostock then began to play more positively and carved out some good chances, with Lightfoot playing a major front-line role.

It was no surprise when Lostock made it 2-0. A shot by Kimber was saved for a corner, from which Savas Politis headed home.

Lostock now took control, with Tony Rogers exploiting plenty of free space on the right. The third goal arrived from a cross to Kimber, who headed down for Lightfoot to volley in.

Lostock replaced their front two for the last 20 minutes and the substitutes made an immediate impact, Karl Rogers going close on a couple of occasions.

Linotype enjoyed a late spell of pressure which saw Faulkner score from the spot after Aleks' foul on McCabe, but even so, this was a solid win for Lostock.

Lostock: Wyatt, Carter, Peers, Politis, Noden, Birtles, T Rogers, Lightfoot, Kimber (Aleks), Howman, Escott (K Rogers). Sub not used: Evans.

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