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Tuesday 18th March - Frickley Athletic 1-0 Stalybridge Celtic

The Blues gained their third successive win against high flying opposition as they edged past Stalybridge Celtic with the only goal of the game early in the second half. Once again, the Blues had to withstand some heavy pressure but the defence again coped admirably.

The ere was just one enforced change to the side from that the played on Saturday with Steve Robinson being unfit, so Duncan Richards replaced him.

Stalybridge started brightly and went close after just 3 minutes when a free-kick from Colin Potts was chipped into the path of Philip Eastwood who controlled it well before firing in an angled shot from 6 yards which Mark Samways saved easily on the line. Steve Woolford went close for the Blues on 15 minutes when he volleyed straight at Craig Dootson from 18 yards whilst Curtis Bernard had a better chance 5 minutes later when he turned Terry Boweker on half way before sprinting clear and going round Dootson but his pace took him well side of goal and he could only find the side netting. Two minutes later Lee Morris knocked the ball down to Bernard who dragged an angled shot side of the left hand post. The Blues had a let-off on 28 minutes when Eastwood got away from Mark Hancock inside the box on the right but almost on the byline and shot goalwards but Samways got enough of a touch to deflect the ball inches wide of the far post. Ten minutes before half time Hancock's free-kick pinged about in the Celtic box before falling to Paul Marquis but he couldn't dig it out from under his feet, so Steve Woolford tried his luck but Dootson pulled off a great save  to tip his 15 yard shot over the bar. In first half stoppage time the ball feel kindly in the Blues' box to Celtic's Potts but Samways was equal to his effort.

Eight minutes after the break the Blues took the lead. Morris chased a ball which a Celtic defender was trying to shepherd back to Dootson and nipped between them to lift the ball over the 'keeper but tit came back off the crossbar to GARY REECE who fired the ball in from around 12 yards. Samways was then called into action as he saved a weak header from Hallows who got on the end of a German cross whilst the Blues had strong claims for a penalty turned down on 70 minutes. Bernard got goal side of the last defender inside the box and, as he bore down on Dootson, seemed to have his legs taken from behind by a defender but the referee waved away claims for a penalty. Two minutes later the Blues had another close call when Potts sent over a deep cross from the right which Eastwood just failed to connect with at the far post whilst on 79 minutes Eastwood shot wide at the near post from another Potts right wing cross. Then, on 82 minutes, Potts himself shot narrowly over the bar from a 25 yard free-kick. In the last minute Morris saw his right wing corner punched from under the bar by Dootson but the Blues were grateful to hang on for the 1-0 win.

Frickley Athletic : Samways, Reece, O'Brien, Woolford, Jackson, Marquis, Hancock, Richards, Morris, Bernard, Lindley. Unused subs. Bywater, Hatto, Daly

Stalybridge Celtic: Dootson, German, Fitzgerald, Bowker, Pearce, Wharton, Hooper, Parr, Hallows (Myers 71), Eastwood, Potts. Unused subs. Denham, Caldecott

Attendance : 183

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