CONGLETON TOWN 2 STALYBRIDGE CELTIC 1
(Pre-season friendly)

Congleton followed their 4-1 victory at North Eastern Counties Premier side Shildon with a narrow victory over Blue Square North Stalybridge Celtic at Booth Street on Saturday. In front of a healthy crowd, the Bears had to come back from an early setback as they conceded a goal to their youthful but talented opponents after just three minutes of the first half. Watson and Fitton were caught out at the back by a long ball launched from deep inside the Stalybridge half. Hobson, the tall, rangy Blues striker took full advantage of the gap between the two defenders, turned quickly onto the ball, took it into the penalty area and then slid the ball past the advancing Conkie to give his side an early lead. The speed and passing of the Bears' opponents was impressive and with the early goal there were fears that it could prove to be easy pickings for the Conference North side. Nothing would be further from the truth though as Congleton pulled up their socks, got stuck in and immediately went after an equaliser. Barely a minute after the restart a neat move earned the Bears a corner. The ball was swung out to the 18-yard line where Haddrell headed back into the danger area and centre-back Bowyer headed the ball back towards goal, only to see his effort cleared off the line at the back post by a covering defender. Midway through the first half, Congleton drew level. Hurst took advantage of a defensive error as the ball cleared the defender's attempted header. One bounce took the ball into the swift Congleton striker's path and he neatly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper into the back of the net to restore parity. Four minutes later the game had completely turned around. A swift foray down the right broke down, with the defender's clearance going straight out to Vickers, midway inside the Stalybridge half. His accurate ball back into the penalty area found Haddrell rising highest to send a looping header from 15 yards out over the goalkeeper and into the top corner to make the score 2-1 to the home side; a lead that they took into the half-time interval. The second half was an altogether quieter affair, with Stalybridge content to pass the ball around and patiently wait for the chances to come. Meanwhile the Bears were content with their lead and closed down quickly, trying to catch their opponents on the break once possession was regained. A raft of changes from both sides disrupted the flow of play in the early stages, but midway through the half the Bears were unlucky not to extend their lead further. The impressive Reaney raced onto a ball played forward by Haddrell, lofting the ball with his first touch over the advancing goalkeeper. With most expecting to see the back of the net ripple, substitute Kennerley, accompanied by a Blues defender, raced towards the ball but failed to get a touch as the ball narrowly passed the wrong side of the back post. Town could have been punished for that failure as five minutes later an excellent chance presented itself to Blue's winger Chintheneah. Hesitancy in the Bears' defence allowed him to stride through unchallenged to go one-on-one with Conkie. The Town keeper did well though, forcing his opponent wide, staying on his feet to chase back and then make a superb sliding tackle to put the ball behind for a corner. With time running short, a free kick to the visitors, some 30 yards from goal, looked to be their last chance. Big centre-back Platt stood over the ball, placed just left of centre, before sending it over the wall towards the top corner. Blues' hopes of an equaliser were dashed by the excellent Conkie who got one palm to the ball to send it over the bar and leave the Bears holding on for the remaining few minutes to secure a narrow victory. A Bears spokesman said: "The names of Haddrell and Hurst appearing on the score-sheet before the season even starts should hopefully raise a few eyebrows among the rest of the Vodkat League and give Congleton fans much to hope for in the forthcoming season."

"CollieDog".

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