Back in the early nineties, Cammell Laird were the last team to lift the MSC Express West Cheshire League’s Pyke Cup three years in succession, and Mossley Hill Ath. now have a chance of emulating that feat, after the winners from the past two seasons overcame Rainhill Town 4-1, in Saturday’s semi-final.
Dom Murphy, Caleb Jones, Paul Pearson, and Will Maddock shared the goals, with Eddie Hawthorne on target for the visitors.
Opponents in the final will be current Division One leaders, Mersey Royal, who romped home 5-0 against Maghull, courtesy of efforts from Kieran Cartwright (2), Luke Watkins, Jamie Leyland, and Ryan Coles.
The Royal are already through to the Wirral DFA Senior Cup final where they will lock horns with rival Division One outfit, Capenhurst Villa, who lowered the flag of holders, Cammell Laird 1907; Nathan Lightfoot and Dom Hoppe applying the finishing touches in Saturday’s 2-0 victory.
This season’s Runcorn & District Saturday Cup final will be an all MSC Express West Cheshire affair. Kier Fenlon and Steven Woodward netted for Runcorn Sports who eclipsed St. Michaels DH 2-1 while on the mark for Helsby in their 5-2 triumph over Moore Utd. Res., were Courtney Bushell (2), Tom Waring, Owen Kucharski, and Sam Bailey.
A battling display from Mallaby saw Neil Pickering’s charges secure their passage to a Haworth & Gallagher Bowl final meeting with Ashville Res., after skipper Tom Black and Danny McLoughlin obliged in a hard-fought 2-0 win at Bootle Res.
A smart double from Chris Hapi-Fankam was supplemented by further strikes from Jon Liddle and Beau Bailey, as strongly fancied Mossley Hill Ath. beat South Liverpool 4-1 in the Youth Plate first round.
On the League scene, third-placed Newton stayed in the Division One title equation, after efforts from Ross McDowell (2) and Ged King inspired their side to a 3-2 success over Marine U23s, who had Harrison Denton and Jon Bravo in reply.
Doubles from Brad Shearwood and Mark Madden anchored second-placed Bootle St. Edmunds to a 5- 0 result at Ellesmere Port Town. Karl Bergqvist was the other marksman.
At the other end of the table, Heswall bagged a welcome three points, when a lone strike from Travis O’Brien sealed the fate of Marshalls.
Elsewhere in the top flight, despite goals from Brandon Dickinson, Eddie Stockton, and Jordan Lee, Chester Nomads capitulated 4-3 at home to Aintree Villa.
Division two leaders, Poulton Vics, stayed six points clear of the chasing pack but suffered their fourth league defeat of the season, when South Liverpool Res., inspired by hat-trick hero Bobby Murphy, posted a 4-2 win. Harvey Billington also made the scoresheet for the visitors with Jason Bull and Tom Randall replying for Vics.
The improving Poulton Royal maintained their purple patch and pocketed another three points after Ryan Slater and Ant Evans found the net in a 2-0 victory over Cheshire Lines.
Fifth placed Ashville Res., made the most of another of their games in hand, and ramped up their promotion challenge, after Fenton Cavanagh (3) and Jordan Dilworth scored in Saturday’s 4-0 win at South Sefton Borough.
Hooton, with goals from Danny Cross (2) and Joel Whalley, went five points clear at the top of Division Three, after they won 3-2 against promotion rivals, Higher Bebington Kelma, who had a two-goal hot- shot in Andy Noonan.
Efforts from Mike Simpson and John Skipsey steered Ellesmere Port Town Res. to a 2-0 result over Heswall Res. and there was no stopping South Liverpool 3rds, who celebrated a 6-0 win against Runcorn Sports Res., with John Foulkes (2), Mike Thomas (2), Jack Bryant, and James Stolberger hitting the target.
Scott Evans was on the mark for Chester Nomads Res. at Rainhill Town Res. but it was the hosts who profited, with a brace from Mike Johnson clinching a 2-1 victory.
Young Leo Patton was the toast of his teammates after his five-goal salvo helped second-placed Vauxhall Motors to a 14-1 rout of Runcorn Linnets in the Youth Division. Further contributions from Danny McHugh (3), Luke Burns(3), Josh Jeffery (2), and Matty Charlton completed the scoreline. Jake Hill bagged Linnets’ consolation.
In contrast, a solitary effort from Rocco Ceraolo earned Victoria Colts maximum spoils from their tussle with basement outfit Maghull, while Ormskirk West End savoured a 3-0 win against BRNESC, with efforts from Adam Procter, Charlie Campbell, and Dylan Caton.
Third-placed Poulton Vics scored through Liam Grealis but saw their title hopes go into reverse, following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of City of Liverpool, who wrapped up the win with replies from Ethan Wetton (2) and Will Harrison.
First Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mersey Royal | 17 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 48 |
| 2 | FC Bootle St Edmund’s | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 39 | 44 |
| 3 | Newton | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 42 | 42 |
| 4 | Mossley Hill Athletic | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 37 |
| 5 | Marine U23s | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 31 |
| 6 | Rainhill Town | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | -8 | 26 |
| 7 | Vauxhall Motors Res | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 25 |
| 8 | Maghull | 17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 25 |
| 9 | Litherland Remyca Res | 21 | 7 | 3 | 11 | -14 | 24 |
| 10 | Aintree Villa | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | -8 | 22 |
| 11 | Marshalls | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | -7 | 21 |
| 12 | Chester Nomads | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | -33 | 17 |
| 13 | Capenhurst Villa | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | -5 | 16 |
| 14 | Heswall | 21 | 4 | 0 | 17 | -31 | 12 |
| 15 | Ellesmere Port Town | 19 | 2 | 1 | 16 | -61 | 7 |
Second Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poulton Victoria | 21 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 49 |
| 2 | Sutton Athletic | 23 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 43 |
| 3 | Helsby | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 34 |
| 4 | Runcorn Sports | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 34 |
| 5 | Ashville Res | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 34 |
| 6 | South Liverpool Res | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
| 7 | Maghull Res | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| 8 | Mallaby | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 25 |
| 9 | Bootle Res | 17 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 24 |
| 10 | Poulton Royal | 17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | -1 | 23 |
| 11 | Mossley Hill Athletic Res | 21 | 7 | 2 | 12 | -18 | 23 |
| 12 | Cheshire Lines | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -26 | 17 |
| 13 | West Kirby | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | -32 | 14 |
| 14 | South Sefton Borough | 17 | 3 | 3 | 11 | -30 | 12 |
| 15 | Marshalls Res | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | -26 | 7 |
Third Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hooton | 21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 45 |
| 2 | Aintree Villa Res | 17 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 49 | 40 |
| 3 | Higher Bebington Kelma | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 39 |
| 4 | South Liverpool Third | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 34 |
| 5 | Runcorn Sports Res | 21 | 11 | 1 | 9 | -20 | 34 |
| 6 | Neston Nomads | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 33 |
| 7 | Capenhurst Villa Res | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 31 |
| 8 | Poulton Victoria Res | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 29 |
| 9 | Helsby Res | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | -16 | 28 |
| 10 | West Kirby Res | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | -13 | 26 |
| 11 | Chester Nomads Res | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | -6 | 22 |
| 12 | Groves Athletic | 21 | 5 | 2 | 14 | -27 | 17 |
| 13 | Ellesmere Port Town Res | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | -35 | 17 |
| 14 | Rainhill Town Res | 19 | 4 | 1 | 14 | -25 | 13 |
| 15 | Heswall Res | 21 | 2 | 6 | 13 | -27 | 12 |
Youth Division
| POS | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mossley Hill Athletic | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 32 |
| 2 | Vauxhall Motors | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 30 |
| 3 | Poulton Victoria | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 25 |
| 4 | Victoria Colts U18 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 25 |
| 5 | BRNESC | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | -3 | 24 |
| 6 | South Liverpool | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 22 |
| 7 | City of Liverpool | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 19 |
| 8 | Ormskirk West End | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | -7 | 18 |
| 9 | Runcorn Linnets | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | -29 | 12 |
| 10 | Maghull | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -42 | 0 |
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