Widnes hit Eccleshall for six to end miserable run of league form.

to record their biggest ever victory in the North West Counties Football League.
The away side came into the game having not won a league game since early October, as they endured a miserable 48 hours last weekend as they lost to Atherton LR in the league, before bowing out of the Reusch First Division Cup on Monday Night in a disappointing defeat to Barnton.
Eccleshall came into the game also suffering from a bad run of form. The home side have just won three times all season, and at the start of proceedings on Saturday afternoon, they languished inside the division’s bottom three.
It was a much-changed Widnes side who travelled to Eccleshall with just a 13-man squad, with key players such as Matty Lennon and Alex Davies missing through injury. However, Steve Hill’s side came flying out of the blocks early, taking the lead inside the first minute.
Gary Williams, who returned to the lineup as captain after missing the past few games with injury, floated a free-kick into the area that was met by a bullet of a header from Jay Cooper, who scored his second goal of the season to fire Widnes into the lead.
Eccleshall came right back at Widnes as they pushed for an instant reply. The ball dropped to Ryan Greene who hit a long-range shot that was always drifting wide and away from David Nevitt’s goal.
Despite the end result, Eccleshall started the game brighter than Widnes despite conceding the early goal. Greene was again involved as he combined with Angelo Errico whose initial shot was saved by Nevitt with the rebound falling to Allwyne Thompson who dragged the rebound wide of the post.
It was at this point that Widnes began to control the game and never look back. Ben Tollitt’s drilled corner towards the penalty spot was deflected down to Luke Colford, whose shot was blocked on the line by Joe Page and cleared away.
It was a lively start to the game, with plenty of attacking threat being shown from both sides. Widnes started to enjoy the majority of possession until Eccleshall broke away on the counter-attack. Errico came forward the ball and found James Gartside with his pass. The midfielder took the shot on that was well-saved by Nevitt.
Widnes missed a golden opportunity to double their lead minutes later. Tollitt played a great ball into Danny Burns who beat two defenders with the help of his quick-feet but he took a touch too many as he eventually ran out of room which allowed Eccleshall to relieve the threat of danger.
The away side spurned another great chance on their next attack. James Ludgate played a terrific pass into James Ryan who really should have took the shot on himself, rather than look to find Joel Douglas with a pass. It was a poor decision from the forward, whose mistake broke the attack down.
The next chance in the game also fell to Widnes. Danny Lomax dispossessed Daniel Jones before advancing to the half-way line where he played a brilliant pass into the feet of Ryan who did well to control it in the manner that he did. However, he let himself down with the finish, as he scuffed his shot which was comfortably gathered by keeper Christian Middleton-Hill.
Winger Errico was one of Eccleshall’s only bright sparks in such a one-sided game. He was involved in every threat that came from the home side, as he fed Daniel Jones who had a shot that was easily saved by Nevitt.
Paul Carney linked up well with Burns down the left-hand side before delivering a great cross that was headed over by Ryan, who missed yet another chance. Widnes won the ball back straight from the goal-kick. Tollitt did well down the right who played a through ball to Douglas who turned away from Nathan Dyer before firing his shot well over the bar.
Despite Widnes’ consistent pressure, it was Eccleshall who had the last chance of the second half, as Allwyne Thompson skipped away from Danny Lomax all too easily before firing a shot on goal that was fantastically saved by Nevitt.
The away side began the second half in similar fashion the first as they doubled their lead early in the second period. Ben Tollitt was sent down the right wing by Joel Douglas as he beat Dyer with relative ease. He played the cross to the back post which found Danny Burns, who turned away from Page and fired Widnes into a 2-0 lead with a tidy finish.
Tollitt was instrumental in a number of Widnes’ attacks and he was involved as Carney and Burns again linked up well with the latter finding Ryan with a great cross into the middle that should have been turned home by the forward, who again missed a golden opportunity.
Tollitt was inches away from making it 3-0 shortly after the hour-mark. He used his pace to get away from Jack Warren before firing a shot that just went past Middleton-Hill’s post.
Widnes were rewarded with a third goal as Ben Tollitt finally got his goal. Douglas played a great pass into the young forward’s feet, as he cut inside before gliding past Bradley Cooper before firing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. This goal firmly put the game to bed.
It was at this point that Eccleshall began to capitulate. Full-back Nathan Dyer received a second yellow card for voicing his displeasure with the assistant referee, claiming that Tollitt was in an offside position when he received the pass. He was promptly sent off, and he received an earful from captain Jack Warren as he left the field.
It wasn’t long before Widnes had their fourth. Luke Colford played a terrific pass into Tollitt, who saw his initial shot saved, before the most unlikely of Widnes players, Paul Carney picked up the ball on the edge of the box and slotted his shot into the bottom corner and past keeper Middleton-Hill to put the game beyond all doubt.
With Widnes’ sheer dominance throughout the game, a fifth goal seemed incredibly likely, and that statement was proven true as time began to wind down as unbelievably, full-back Carney popped up in the box to bag his second goal of the game. Danny Burns was again involved, as the young midfielder beat Page with relative ease before pulling it back where Carney was waiting to give compound even more misery on the home side’s season.
The away side didn’t relent with their pressure, and it was made 6-0 shortly before the end of normal time. Substitute Bradley Williams played a lovely pass through the middle of the Eccleshall defence that was picked up by Ben Tollitt who advanced on goal before firing his shot into the back of the net, in off the post to record his ninth goal of the season and to ensure that Widnes picked up their biggest ever league win.
Manager Steve Hill was delighted with his side’s performance. “It was a good win. I’m made up that we’ve picked up three points for a change. Now, we’ve got to build a push and pick up as many points as we possibly can. 1-0 would have done the job, but 6-0 is incredibly nice.” Hill went on to add, “The past few weeks, we have been creating chances and today was the culmination of that, as we were fortunate enough to take 6 chances today.”
Widnes travel to Ashton Town next weekend, who recovered from 2-0 down to draw with the Steve Hill’s side last month. Hill kept his feet on the ground when asked about the game. “It will be a tough game. Obviously, we only played them recently and they showed that they’re a good side with the character that they showed to come away from that game with a point. We need to go there full of confidence and pick up three points that won’t come easy.”
Match Report by Callum Chadwick.