Clitheroe 2 Newcastle Town 0
Att. 619

Clitheroe maintained their push for the final play off spot with a regulation victory against Newcastle Town and ended the day only two points behind Runcorn Linnets in fifth place.

Clitheroe dominated the game against a youthful and energetic Newcastle side, and, but for a lack of cutting edge for the visitors, the game could have been much closer. As it was, the Blues had the same starting eleven as against Bootle in midweek, and quickly slipped into gear. On 3 minutes, Sefton Gonzales rasped a great volley narrowly over the bar, with Bailey Sloane also going close minutes later with a firm drive straight at the keeper.

On 13 minutes, there was general disbelief that the home side was not in front when a deep corner was met with a downward Gonzales header and the visiting keeper somehow managed to drop on to the ball on the goal line. Minutes later, it was Newcastle who went close from a corner, as a solid effort was cleared off the line, albeit with minimal panic. From this point, the game settled into a familiar pattern of Clitheroe pressure, but it was not until the 33rd minute before Jamie Edwards surged forward and forced a full length save. However, the crowd did not have long to wait for the opening goal.

Max Cane emerged from a melee of players on the edge of the box and he struck the ball firmly beyond the keeper to maintain his superb goalscoring record. Minutes later, Gonzales exchanged passes to find himself in the area, but his final shot ended up on the side netting. As the game entered injury time, the Blues had the best possible end to the half as Jack Burrows made a trademark run to the bye line and his driven cross was expertly headed beyond the keeper by Ross Dent.

Further chances fell Clitheroe’s way in the second half. Gonzales was fouled in the 48th minute, but he ploughed on before the referee had blown and he saw his final shot well saved by the keeper’s legs. Fresh legs were brought on for Edwards and Danny Wilkins who had run themselves into the ground in the previous two weeks and on 70 minutes, Burrows again skidded a cross in from the right and substitute Jake Connelly failed by inches to time his full length slide to steer the ball home.

Minutes later, Cane was hunting for his second and he held off two challenges, only for his superb shot to be equally well saved. On 79 minutes, a short free kick by Joel Byrom to Cane saw Moses Yoak released, but he could not quite get the ball from under his feet.

Clitheroe saw the rest of the game out comfortably without further incident and now have the luxury of a weekend off before a massive Easter period, which could decide the fate of the final play off place.

Team : Chris Thompson, Jack Burrows, Bailey Sloane, Alex Turner, Cameron Lancaster, Moses Yoak, Ross Dent (Gabriel Humphries), Danny Wilkins (Joel Byrom), Sefton Gonzales (c), Max Cane, Jamie Edwards (Jake Connelly). Subs - Jake Connelly, Joel Byrom, Gabriel Humphries. Not used - Richard Baker, Billy Priestley