Hesketh Casuals B 5-1 Old Mancunians A

Hekky Casuals got back to winning ways with a convincing victory over an Old Mancunians side who must have been cursing their cry-offs. The away side travelled to Southport with only 10 men and gave a good account of themselves for the opening 44 minutes, as the game remained goalless before Justin Parr broke the deadlock.

The game had been fiercely contested up to this point with both sides getting stuck in, in particular Mike Lloyd and Dan Richards who challenged for everything in the middle. Casuals could have gone ahead inside the first three minutes when reliable striker Andy Walker galloped clear of the defence. As the goalkeeper advanced Walker poked the ball passed only to see his effort rebound off the upright. Derek Sykes was quick to react but his sliding shot was superbly blocked on the line. Dan Richards went close with a smart header which clipped the crossbar, as did Barry Fellowes left foot shot after 20 minutes. Old Mancunians danger was snuffed out at the other end by the solid defensive pairing of Chris Hames and Neil MacGregor.

The home side were feeling a little uneasy given the scoreline and seemingly obvious advantage of playing with the wind in the first half. Justin Parr, however, settled the nerves with a spectacular long range footed effort which evaded the stranded keeper. The second half was a different proposition with Casuals domination converting into goals. The second came from an incredible goal from Neil MacGregor who picked up the ball on the half way line, skipped passed three challenges and sent a low right footed drive from outside the box into the bottom corner. MacGregor, usually the advocate of goal celebrations, was in too much shock to do anything too wild, possibly due to his 2 yard miss a few minutes earlier.

At 2-0 the game was not over and Andy Walker clinched the three points with a low left footed shot from 10 yards out, leaving the keeper with no chance. The gusty conditions allowed Old Mancs to claim a consolation when a swirling corner went unclaimed by keeper Hames. If there was any doubt that the ball may have crossed the line, Carl Forshaw made sure with a stunning finish.

The game was sealed when Langton chased down the ball and crossed into the middle, Andy Walker hurried down the defender and excellently cut back to Fellowes who hit a first time shot passed the keeper. There was still time for Cassies to score a fifth, and record their best win of the season, when Hames long ball was flicked on by Aspin and Andy Walker raced clear to thump the ball home and complete a comprehensive win.

Man of the match: Neil MacGregor