Report by Paul Thomason

Prestwich Heys started the New Year off with a bang as Connor Martin scored within a minute of his return to the club in this relegation six-pointer against third bottom Squires Gate to set his side on the way to a victory that reduced the deficit on their opponents to seven points.

In a must win game, the home side couldn’t have asked for a better start when Martin, who has rejoined the club after a spell at Cheadle Town, fired in a shot that appeared to have been saved by the opposing keeper, however the ball had crossed the line, in the act of doing so, giving Heys a first minute lead.

Prestwich started the better side and had a chance to double their lead in the eighth minute when a low cross on the left from Alfie Belcher went just too far in front of Martin where any touch would have made it two.

Heys continued to attack and a couple of minutes later, a shot from Belcher from around twenty yards out went just wide, low to the keeper’s left.

Prestwich continued to have the better of the game but there was always a threat going forward from the visitors and they had half a chance in the twentieth minute when Dean Ing headed over from a corner kick and Harry Allen was called into action eight minutes later when a low shot from Ing to his right was tipped behind for a corner.

A couple of minutes later, Squires Gate had their best chance when a scramble in the Heys penalty area saw Brad Sullivan clear off the line and then the post was hit from around four yards out before it was cleared.

Heys had one more good chance before the break from a corner which found the head of Martin but his strong header went just over the bar.

The home side went into the second half ahead, but it was Squires Gate who enjoyed more possession early on, but they were unable to create anything meaningful.

The first real chance of the second half didn’t come until the sixty-fourth minute with a quick break from Heys. Michael Burke found Max Bardsley-Rowe to his right but his angled shot in the penalty area, saw the away keeper react quickly to make the save.

Three minutes later, Martin had the ball and hit a powerful shot from just inside the penalty area which unluckily came back off the post.

With quarter of an hour to go, Prestwich finally got their deserved second goal. A long ball over the top saw Tom Woodward win the race for possession as he was able to beat the keeper to the ball, taking it around him before composing himself and placing it past the defender into the bottom corner to score his first Heys goal to the delight of the home fans!

Harry Allen continued to get the better of Ing once again in the eighty-fifth minute when Ings effort through a sea of crowded bodies was excellently saved to give the keeper his first clean sheet in the Prestwich goalkeeper jersey.

Bryson Appleton put the icing on the cake in stoppage time to complete the perfect afternoon for Heys when he got the ball on the left, looking like he was going to the corner to protect the lead, however, he then skimmed the defenders, to run down the line towards goal before casually placing it past the keeper at the near post from what appeared to be a difficult angle. A superb goal!

Anything less than a win wouldn’t have done for Prestwich so to win comfortably was magnificent. Connor Martin made his presence felt from the very first minute on his return. Alfie Belcher was excellent too, but every player deserves credit for a great team performance, and it now feels like the great escape could be well and truly on!

TEAM: Harry Allen, Max Bardsley-Rowe, Joseph Thompson, Bradley J Sullivan, James Badrock, Jack Taylor, Gabriel Hughes, David Edwards, Michael Burke, Connor Martin, Alfie Belcher Subs: Regan Brown (for Bardsley-Rowe 80 mins), Bryson Appleton (for Belcher 85 mins), Luke Byron (for Martin 67 mins), Thomas Woodward (for Burke 67 mins), Owen Percival (for Edwards 85 mins)