REPORT: Widnes 1-3 Whitchurch Alport

|Match Report by Callum Chadwick

Widnes FC fell to their third consecutive home defeat, falling to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Whitchurch Alport on Monday night.

Widnes’ season thus far has been inconsistent, with Danny Meadowcroft and Brian Pritchard’s side boasting a 100% record away from home, but has now lost three out of four home games early in the campaign.

Matthew Ashbrook’s thunderbolt put Alport ahead before Kev Towey equalised early in the second half with an excellent free-kick. A looping header from Simon Everall restored Alport’s lead before an unfortunate James McShane own goal secured the points for the visitors.

Widnes made three changes to the side that beat Eccleshall in their previous outing. Kristofer Leigh made his debut in goal, coming in for Josh Cook. Meanwhile, Neil Harvey dropped to the bench as Mike Burke returned to the side and Ryan Malone was replaced by the returning Kev Towey.

Alport got off to a flyer and raced into a 3-minute lead. Matthew Ashbrook got the better of Rigg before firing a rocket towards goal that crashed off the underside of the bar before bouncing down and over the line. The linesman on the near-side gave the goal as the strike clearly crossed the line despite some half-hearted protests from Widnes.

Widnes were eager to get back into the game. Towey looked lively on his return to the side and proved to be a nuisance as he forced a couple of early corners after great through-balls from Tom Mitchell and Jon Dawson respectively.

Meanwhile, skipper Kev Pollard twice headed into the gloves of Whitchurch keeper Rob Cooke from two Widnes set pieces.
Cooke was again called into action as Towey picked up a loose ball and fired a shot on goal that the Whitchurch shot-stopper did extremely well to finger tip around the post.

Down on the other end, Widnes’ debuting keeper Kristofer Leigh was on-hand to produce an outstanding save to prevent Alex Hughes from doubling the visitors’ lead. Hughes’ free-kick looked destined to nestle in the top corner but the shot was beaten away by a superb save from the Widnes shot-stopper.

Halftime: Widnes 0-1 Whitchurch Alport

Meadowcroft and Pritchard made a change at the break. Neil Harvey was brought on for Jack Graham in a change that signalled attacking intent from the hosts.

Widnes wasted little time in finding an equaliser. Whitchurch right-back brought down Darrhyl Mason on the edge of the area. Kev Towey stepped up and found the corner with a brilliantly weighted free-kick to record his fifth goal of the season.

Seconds later, Alport spurned a glorious chance to quickly restore their lead. Hughes’ left-footed shot towards goal was denied by the outstretched leg of Leigh who produced another fine save on his first Widnes appearance.

Widnes then enjoyed their best spell of the game. Towey was again at the forefront as he did incredibly well to engineer space to pick out Jon Dawson on the far-side. Dawson travelled 20 yards and into the area before seeing his effort whistle over the bar.

Alport however continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack. Simon Everall robbed Mitchell of possession but couldn’t find the side-netting with his effort.

Less than a minute later, Alport restored their lead. Nick Marley’s delicious ball towards the back-post was met by Everall, whose header looped into far corner.

Immediately from the kick-off, Widnes’ Webster exchanged passes with Harvey before forcing a good save out of Cooke from 25 yards as the hosts began their search for yet another equaliser.

Minutes later however, Alport increased their lead. A tremendous piece of skill from earlier goalscorer Ashbrook turned Rigg inside out before he fizzed a ball across the face of goal that was unfortunately diverted into his own net by James McShane.

With a mountain to climb and starting defeat in the face, Widnes kept going and neat, intricate build-up play lead to a chance for Towey who cut inside and forced another terrific save out of Whitchurch keeper Cooke.

Five minutes from time, Harvey rose highest to head the ball down into the path of Towey who burst into the area before firing his effort over the bar that ultimately summed up Widnes’ evening.

Fulltime: Widnes 1-3 Whitchurch Alport

Widnes will be looking for a response this Saturday as they take a break from league action to travel to Maltby Main in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Vase. Maltby will prove to be tough opposition for Widnes, with the Rotherham-based club currently plying their trade in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division.

Widnes’ next league game comes a week on Thursday (15th Sept) with a trip to St Helens Town.

Widnes: Leigh, Rigg, Dawson, Pollard, Mitchell, Burke (Webster 42), Mason, Jason McShane (Laverty 67), Towey, James McShane, Graham (Harvey 46).

Subs not used: Fielding, Meadowcroft.

Whitchurch Alport: Cooke, Marley, Ledwards, Twigg, Goddard, Thomas (Minshall 55), Blundell (Elcock 66), C. Everall, S. Everall, Hughes (D. Tinsley 79), Ashbrook.

Subs not used: A. Tinsley.