Report by Paul Thomason

Prestwich Heys effectively sealed their place in next seasons North West Counties Premier Division as Max Bardsley-Rowe scored a late penalty in front of a bumper crowd of 522.

The young players of Prestwich Marauders were in attendance as the two clubs celebrated their new link. These boys and girls are the future of Heys and would have been delighted to see the present crop take victory today.

It was a nervy first half with Prestwich having the better of the opening ten minutes, but they were unable to create anything substantive and the following ten minutes saw Irlam get on top but still there was no real threat on goal from either side.

Although Irlam could still technically make the playoffs, their goal difference made the task almost impossible and with a cup final for the visitors on Tuesday night to come, you could understand why they may have taken the game easy, however they were at Adie Moran Park to win the game.

Prestwich were too and were the first team to test one of the goalkeepers in the twenty-nineth minute when Luke Byron had an effort from just outside the penalty area, hard at goal, but Elliot Wynne in the Irlam goal dived to his right and parried it away.

Irlam came forward and with someone like Declan Daniels up front they would always be a danger, but the Heys defence were comfortable at the back.

There wasn’t much goalmouth action in the first half with the only other chance before the break coming on forty minutes when Bryson Appleton, on the right, picked out Takura Sambizi whose effort was blocked and Lee Grimshaw couldn’t put the follow up away.

The game would open up in the second half and it only took five minutes after the restart to see the opening goal. A corner from Alfie Belcher dropped in front of Grimshaw whose effort was blocked, sending the ball looping into the air, however, the Heys striker managed to get his head onto it and in what seemed like in slow motion, he headed over Wynne and into the back of the net to the delight of the home crowd who could suddenly see the safety line of what has been a tough season.

The lead would only last five minutes. A pinpoint cross from Isaac Modi on the right was met on the head of Daniels, giving Harry Allen no chance to almost silence inside Adie Moran Park. The nerves were quickly back.

Heads didn’t go down, the Prestwich Heys players wanted to win this one. On sixty-four minutes, Alfie Belcher’s free kick found James Badrock but his header went agonisingly wide at the foot of the post and three minutes later, David Badrock’s long ball found Sambizi, beating the keeper to the ball, getting a foot to it but taking it just wide of the left post.

Then, with just ten minutes of normal time to go, Sambizi beat the final defender, winning the race to the ball, and as he tried to turn and go around the keeper, he was brought down, earning Heys a penalty. The fact that Sambizi had his back to goal when the foul was committed may have saved Wynne from a red card. A yellow was given and now it was up to Max Bardsley-Rowe to score what could be one of the most important goals in the history of the club. It was a tense moment, but Bardsley-Rowe sent the ball down the middle, whilst the keeper dived to his left, becoming the clubs top-scorer this season and sending the home fans into raptures

Despite one big threat from substitute Lloyd Shobo for the visitors, Heys managed the final eight minutes plus stoppage time well, the home fans celebrated every throw-in won, every time the ball was cleared and every time Allen had the ball safely in his hands.

It was relief and delight at the final whistle as barring a thirteen-goal swing on the final day, Heys, who at one point this season were thirteen points from safety, secured their place in the North West Counties top-flight next season.

Team: Harry Allen, Max Bardsley-Rowe, David Badrock, Jack Taylor, James Badrock, Gabriel Hughes, Bryson Appleton, Luke Byron, Lee Grimshaw , Alfie Belcher, Takura Sambizi, Subs: Michael Burke (for Appleton 77 mins), Joseph Thompson (for Sambizi 89 mins), Alistair Bracken, Luke Jackson (for Byron 77 mins), Thomas Woodward (for Grimshaw 89 mins)