League

Saltaire AF
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Piers Postolan kicked off to start the match. After 7 minutes Saltaire AF's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Pedro Jones who took care of the corner kick. 16 minutes into the match, Aaron Tomkins notched a goal, 1-0, to the right of Helsby United's Louis Roche. Louis Roche was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Helsby United's Louis Roche played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Marc Reid in the 20th minute of play. When Graeme Jobling came up free with the goalie in the 22nd minute, the Helsby United fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Graeme Jobling couldn't finish the play. Saltaire AF's Marc Reid got a good chance for a goal in the 30th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Louis Roche made a fantastic save in the 32nd minute, when Glenn Sollit sent off a good shot on target. After a defensive mix-up in Helsby United's zone, Glenn Sollit stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Louis Roche came out of the goal and Glenn Sollit tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 42nd minute, Saltaire AF's Aaron Tomkins dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 2-0. Jo Platt lost his temper 46 minutes into the game and shoved another player to the ground. He was immediately shown a red card. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 46th minute of the game. One of Helsby United:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Saltaire AF:s goal.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Glenn Sollit stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Marc Reid took the ball and in the 58 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Louis Roche. Louis Roche dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 4-0. Saltaire AF's Aaron Tomkins got a good chance for a goal in the 62nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After 63 played minutes Saltaire AF got a freekick which was hit by Anthony Ellerton. After 68 minutes of play, Helsby United's Piers Postolan made it 4-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Joseph Mortimer was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 72nd minute, Piers Postolan ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Joseph Mortimer was frozen by the shot and now it was 4-2. Louis Roche showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Glenn Sollit, who was totally free with the ball in the 75th minute. Helsby United's Louis Roche played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aaron Tomkins in the 81st minute of play. 86 minutes into the match, Saltaire AF's goalkeeper Joseph Mortimer had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Piers Postolan. The supporters of Saltaire AF booed when Helsby United was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 88 match minutes in a wonderful position. Graeme Jobling didn't get a good kick on the ball. It was no surprise that this one had ended in a win for the home team. Saltaire AF had played much better football throughout.