THORNLEIGH bounced back from a chastening Premier Division defeat to move into the third round of the Lancashire Amateur League Cup with a win over a spirited second division side Old Mancunians.
Old Mancunians looked to be on their way out without a struggle as Damian Gray scored twice within 10 minutes.
But then the bizarre disallowing of a stunning John Aspinall volley gave the visitors new heart, and after two defensive errors had led to a levelling of the scores, extra time loomed.
But that man Gray finally settled the tie in Thornleigh's favour seven minutes from time, completing a worthy hat-trick.
Old Sladians had suffered four defeats in a row - two in cup competitions - and were pleased to get back to winning ways against Roch Valley.
The division one clash saw a bad defensive error break the stalemate after 25 mins, Howard Boyce taking advantage.
In the second half, good approach work by Dave Wheatley led to Boyce tapping in his second, and the same player hit woodwork and missed an open goal, before Wheatley himself grabbed the third. A good defensive game was slightly marred by a late goal to the opposition.
Sladians are now in third place, six points behind rampant leaders Bolton County, but only two behind Sladians, who surprisingly lost 4-0 to Newman College. Several other teams are still well-placed to have a say in this division.
In the second division, Little Lever SC were back to full strength, and showed it with a power performance against Bury Amateurs, adding five without reply to the six they put past the same side in an earlier fixture.
Four goals in the first half killed the game, and the second half was largely meaningless. Scoring is never meaningless for the scorers, however, and Darryl Green and John Done, with a brace each, and John Openshaw, were no doubt well pleased.
Hayward continued their recovery process with a hard fought 2-1 win over Oldham Hulmeians, after their start was marred by losing a car and having to take the field with whatever bodies were available.
After a first half of containment, they went a goal down, soon equalised by Gary Slater, and after Oldham had drawn level, Duncan Gettings resolved the matter.
Outstanding midfield performances from Brian Matthews and Wayne Davies contributed hugely to this win, which moves Hayward up to sixth place.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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