Season Review – March

The penultimate month of the season was set to start with Wrexham visiting Nethermoor but heavy snowfall on the day before saw the match postponed due to snow and a frozen pitch.

Instead Tranmere Rovers made their first ever visit to kick off the month in an exciting 2-2 draw at a packed Nethermoor Park.

Rob Atkinson gave the visitors the lead when he inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, however James Hurst equalised just three minutes later with a powerful strike from the edge of the area.

Jake Kirby’s shot 13 minutes into the second half beat Dan Atkinson at his near post but again the Lions responded within minutes when James Hurst powered home his second of the evening.

The Lions were back on the road with a trip to Bromley, a game which saw Will Hatfield strike the crossbar just after half time and that was the closest the visitors came to scoring.

A brace from substitute Bradley Goldberg settled the tie in the final 20 minutes, his first was a powerful header with the second being a curled effort which left Dan Atkinson stranded and the Lions were slipping ever closer to the relegation zone.

Another rearranged match was next up as Grimsby Town made the midweek trip over from Lincolnshire to continue their push for the title.

However they were denied by a strong performance from the Lions who took the lead through Rob Atkinson after just six minutes as the centre back scored against his former club.

Craig Disley headed the Mariners level just 14 minutes later but Nicky Boshell’s fine strike saw the hosts take the lead just five minutes into the second half.

However it took Grimsby just five minutes to equalise when Podraig Amond scored his 30th goal of an impressive season, both sides could not find a winner and shared the points.

Dover made their second visit to Nethermoor looking to continue their impressive surge up the table, Stefan Payne scored the only goal of the contest after just 6 minutes and the Lions were reduced to 10 with a quarter of an hour to go when James Hurst received his second yellow card.

Mark Bower arranged another mid-season friendly with a trip to Ossett Albion, strikes from Oli Johnson and Gavin Rothery in the first half saw the Lions home despite a late goal from the hosts.

Next up was an Easter weekend double in which boss Mark Bower highlighted the trips to Southport and Chester as must win matches.

However Southport had other ideas on a wet day in Merseyside to pull themselves away from the relegation zone.

Jonny Margetts’ impressive strike just 8 minutes before half-time saw the Sandgrounders go in ahead at the break, the goal coming from a slip up in the Lions’ defence after a breakaway by the hosts from a corner.

Craig Westcarr then lobbed Dan Atkinson in the 66th minute to secure the points but Guiseley did come close when substitute Emile Sinclair struck the crossbar.

Chester made the trip over to Nethermoor on Easter Monday looking to distance themselves from the drop zone.

Ross Hannah gave the Blues the lead after 39 minutes in what looked to have secured the points, however the game came to life in the 74th minute when Emile Sinclair scored his first goal for the club as he headed home Ollie Norburn’s cross.

Then just seven minutes later the Lions were in the lead when Will Hatfield poked the ball into the net to spark wild celebrations both on and off the pitch.

However Kane Richards equalised for Chester just three minutes later when he managed to turn the ball into the bottom corner.

Then Emile Sinclair scored from close range in the final minute of normal time which had looked to secure a priceless victory for Mark Bower’s men, the game was not yet over and Chester had one more goal in them and it came two minutes into added time when Tom Shaw bundled the ball home.

A dramatic game at Nethermoor which looked to have been costly for the hosts as the season was coming to a close.

Picture courtesy of Alex Daniel.

Next Up:

3:00 pm
Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division

Prescot Cables vs Guiseley