Congratulations to MSC Express West Cheshire League Pyke Cup specialists, Mossley Hill Ath., who lifted the trophy for the third year in succession after beating Division One champions, Mersey Royal 2-0 last Monday evening.
Goals from Caleb Jones and Tom McNamara were enough for the Division One runners-up to retain the trophy, but it was an agonising finale for the Royal, whose superb season was soured after suffering a second cup final defeat inside eight days.
Tuesday 9/5/23 – Ashville Res.‘ hopes of being promoted to Division One as runners-up in Division Two were bolstered following a 4-0 eclipse of Cheshire Lines which featured efforts from Danni Kelly, Joseph Dulson, Jordan Dilworth, and Danny Whitehead.
In Division Three, Curt Hall and Connor Davies bagged a goal apiece as Chester Nomads Res. signed off the season with a 2-1 result over Poulton Vics Res., but a goal from Cody Carter was to no avail, as Heswall Res. capitulated 4-1 to replies from newly crowned champions Aintree Villa Res.‘ Zak Aspinall, Dave Pursglove, Dylan Lawless, and Sam Jarvis (pictured).
Wednesday 11/5/23 – A smart double from Lee Turkington assured Helsby of a 2-0 victory over local rivals Runcorn Sports and within five points of current Division One leaders, Poulton Vics. while Youth Division action saw Ormskirk West End conclude their season on a high when goals from Charlie Hogan and Nick Pereira sealed a 2-0 decision over champions Mossley Hll Ath.
Weekend action – Helsby can either get promoted to the top flight as Division Two champions or runners-up but their charge was interrupted on Saturday after efforts from Jamie Hooper and an own goal were negated by replies from South Sefton Borough‘s Niall McEnery and Wayne Law. Victories in their last two fixtures against Poulton Royal (A) and Bootle Res. (H) however, would see them deny Poulton Vics of the title.
Any slip-ups in those two final fixtures may yet see third-placed Ashville Res. secure the runners-up spot and their cause was helped after Derek Taylor (2), Danny Whitehead, Corey Scarisbrick, and Jordan Dilworth found the net in Saturday’s 6-0 rout of Poulton Royal.
Elsewhere, Dan Da Costa and Baf Djabi struck for Bootle Res. in a 2-0 triumph at West Kirby.
Division Three action saw second-placed Higher Bebington Kelma conclude their league season in style, Andy Noonan (3), Ben Kierman (2), Charlie Fearon, Andy Blakeborough, Andy Simpson, and Shaun Burgess applying the finishing touches in a 9-0 victory at Helsby Res.
Poulton Vics Res. accounted for Ellesmere Port Town Res. 4-0 thanks to efforts from Neal Ellison, Harvey Sample, Lewis Ward, and Joel Kelly, but a goal from Harry Summerford proved consolatory as Rainhill Town went down 4-1 at home to South Liverpool 3rds, whose marksmen were Jack Bryant, Jeff Adekunle, Kian Skinnley, and Ellis Jago.
Main image: Heswall FC Reserves (Yellow) v Aintree Villa FC Reserves (Orange) Credit: Bob Shaw
First Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mersey Royal | 28 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 58 | 70 |
| 2 | Mossley Hill Athletic | 27 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 52 | 65 |
| 3 | Newton | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 52 | 64 |
| 4 | FC Bootle St Edmund’s | 28 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 42 | 56 |
| 5 | Vauxhall Motors Res | 28 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 53 |
| 6 | Maghull | 27 | 12 | 3 | 12 | -1 | 39 |
| 7 | Marine U23s | 27 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 38 |
| 8 | Marshalls | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | -9 | 33 |
| 9 | Aintree Villa | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | -10 | 32 |
| 10 | Rainhill Town | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | -20 | 30 |
| 11 | Litherland Remyca Res | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | -22 | 30 |
| 12 | Chester Nomads | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | -40 | 29 |
| 13 | Capenhurst Villa | 25 | 8 | 2 | 15 | -19 | 26 |
| 14 | Heswall | 28 | 5 | 2 | 21 | -38 | 17 |
| 15 | Ellesmere Port Town | 28 | 4 | 1 | 23 | -72 | 13 |
Second Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poulton Victoria | 28 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 43 | 66 |
| 2 | Helsby | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 62 |
| 3 | Ashville Res | 27 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 62 |
| 4 | Maghull Res | 28 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 51 |
| 5 | South Liverpool Res | 27 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 51 |
| 6 | Runcorn Sports | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 22 | 49 |
| 7 | Sutton Athletic | 28 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 43 |
| 8 | Bootle Res | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 36 |
| 9 | Mallaby | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | -2 | 35 |
| 10 | Poulton Royal | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | -22 | 30 |
| 11 | Mossley Hill Athletic Res | 28 | 8 | 2 | 18 | -24 | 26 |
| 12 | West Kirby | 27 | 6 | 4 | 17 | -32 | 22 |
| 13 | Cheshire Lines | 27 | 5 | 6 | 16 | -34 | 21 |
| 14 | South Sefton Borough | 28 | 4 | 6 | 18 | -47 | 18 |
| 15 | Marshalls Res | 28 | 5 | 2 | 21 | -33 | 17 |
Third Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aintree Villa Res | 26 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 64 | 65 |
| 2 | Higher Bebington Kelma | 28 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 52 | 61 |
| 3 | South Liverpool Third | 27 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 45 | 59 |
| 4 | Hooton | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 37 | 55 |
| 5 | Capenhurst Villa Res | 27 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 51 |
| 6 | Runcorn Sports Res | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | -21 | 40 |
| 7 | Neston Nomads | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | -2 | 38 |
| 8 | Poulton Victoria Res | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 34 |
| 9 | Chester Nomads Res | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | -6 | 34 |
| 10 | Helsby Res | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | -25 | 32 |
| 11 | West Kirby Res | 28 | 8 | 3 | 17 | -19 | 27 |
| 12 | Rainhill Town Res | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | -26 | 24 |
| 13 | Groves Athletic | 28 | 7 | 2 | 19 | -36 | 23 |
| 14 | Ellesmere Port Town Res | 28 | 6 | 3 | 19 | -55 | 21 |
| 15 | Heswall Res | 27 | 2 | 9 | 16 | -35 | 15 |
Youth Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mossley Hill Athletic | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 42 |
| 2 | South Liverpool | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 31 |
| 3 | Vauxhall Motors | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 30 |
| 4 | BRNESC | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 28 |
| 5 | Poulton Victoria | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| 6 | Victoria Colts U18 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 28 |
| 7 | Ormskirk West End | 17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 23 |
| 8 | City of Liverpool | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | -6 | 21 |
| 9 | Runcorn Linnets | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | -27 | 16 |
| 10 | Maghull | 18 | 1 | 0 | 17 | -47 | 3 |
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