Foley Meir won for the first time since mid-October, as they came from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against local rivals Abbey Hulton United.
Kevyn Davies had put Abbey Hulton 1-0 up inside the first 12 minutes of the game before Alex Cimino equalised from the penalty spot just seven minutes later and, it looked like the two teams were going to have to share the points until Alex Scott and Serkari Ahmadi scored in the final moments of the game to allow Foley to taste victory for the first time since the 11th October.
The game’s tempo was set just three minutes into the tie when Foley forward Jayden Wakefield crunched into Will Tams with a strong tackle. On another day, a different match official could have shown a very early red card. However, referee Conor Thomson deemed that just a yellow card was enough.
As expected, it was the visitors who started the game better and they took the lead on 12 minutes when Matthew Ward played a lovely backheel to Davies who ran onto the loose ball before sweeping the ball past Andrew Walklate.
You couldn’t blame Foley Meir if they went defensive after that and tried to shut up shop in an attempt to keep the scoreline down having conceded 12 goals on Tuesday night at Cheadle Town. However, Foley kept their heads up and found a way back into the game on 19 minutes when Wakefield won the hosts a penalty as he was barged over. Up stepped Cimino and the creative midfielder sent Dom Kurasik the wrong way from 12 yards out.
Liam Robinson is Abbey Hulton’s top scorer this season with 14 goals to his name already and he will have headed home after the game wondering how he hadn’t added to that tally as he missed a string of opportunities to find the back of the net. He almost restored Abbey’s lead on 30 minutes when he flicked a long ball over the head of the onrushing Walklate with the outside of his boot. However, the quick-thinking Daniel Hughes got back on his line to clear the ball away to safety.
After the break, he had six great chances to hit the back of the net. However, each time he found Walklate in superb form to deny him chance after chance and, when Walklate was beaten the Abbey Hulton captain, who replaced Shaun Rhodes as skipper on Friday after the defender was forced to retire following a string of injuries, saw his effort crash against the crossbar.
At the other end, Foley were limited to one chance, which came on 71 minutes when Ahmadi broke on Abbey Hulton’s defence before playing the ball to the club’s top scorer Thomas Wakefield. However, on this occasion, he could not find the back of the net as his shot was blocked.
As the game headed towards its conclusion, it was looking more and more likely that the two teams were going to be sharing the points as nothing was separating the sides. However, that changed with just five minutes to go when Cimino’s deep corner was met at the back post by debutant Scott who made no mistake in heading past Kurasik to put Foley ahead.
The icing on top of the Foley Meir cake came in the fourth minute of injury time as Fletcher Rushton played the ball to Ahmadi who controlled the ball with his chest before firing across Kurasik and into the far corner of the net to seal the win for the hosts.
It was a vital victory for Foley Meir as they move onto 11 points for the season as well as closing the gap on third from bottom Alsager Town. They’re next in action on Tuesday when they welcome Cammell Laird 1907 to Whitcombe Road in a massive game. Meanwhile, Abbey Hulton United slip down a place to 13th in the league table, their next game is also on Tuesday as they visit Abbey Hey.
After the game, I caught up with a delighted Sam Golden to get his reaction to the victory.
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Foley Meir: Walklate, Hope (King, 73), Franklyn, Hughes (Simms, 80), Nicklin, Scott, Lloyd (Ahmadi, 54), Rushton, Shepherd, Wakefield and Cimino.
Unused subs: Lancett and Shuttleworth.
Abbey Hulton United: Kurasik, Jamie Weldon, Birstow, Thomas, Tams, Hill, Jack Weldon (Graves, 61), Gumbley (Berkeley, 72), Robinson, Ward (McKay, 61) and Davies.
Unused subs: Catalno and Igwenwanne.
Attendance: 85
