PRESTWICH HEYS 1 CHARNOCK RICHARD 1
SATURDAY 29TH AUGUST 2026 NW COUNTIES PREMIER DIVISION ATT:220

Report by Rick Barrett
Pictures by Bethany Lee - more pics here https://flickr.com/photos/91307207@N05/albums/72177720335360475

A trademark header from striker Louis Holt in the seventieth minute was enough to give Prestwich Heys a share of the points in a 1-1 draw with Charnock Richard at Adie Moran Park on Saturday.

Heys came into the game in confident mood after an impressive 3-1 win at Runcorn Town in the FA Cup last weekend and brought Bryson Appleton and Louis Holt back into the starting line-up, while Charnock were also looking forward to this one having beaten AFC Liverpool 3-0 last time out.

After a quiet opening quarter, the visitors were first to show on sixteen minutes when Marcus Haydock fired one in from the left bringing a save from Heys keeper Austyn Hall.

Charnock continued to press and were rewarded on thirty-two minutes when Hall brought down Alfie Walker and Nathan Nickeas stepped up to fire the penalty, top left, to put Charnock 1-0 up.

This sparked Prestwich into life and a minute later Tobias Green put a ball through to Bryson Appleton, but he fired his shot wide of the far post, and shortly after it was Green himself running through the middle and he was unlucky to see his shot hit the post.

Back came Charnock on thirty-nine minutes and it was Nickeas looking lively with a shot, bringing a save from Hall, and it was Prestwich who wrapped up the half's action with a Dre Taylor shot from eight yards bringing a save from Charnock keeper Ryan Hamer.

So, little to choose between these two but it was the visitors who had the advantage at the break and Heys knew they would need to turn up the heat in the second half if they were going to get anything out of this one.

It was Nickeas again firing over the bar a minute after the restart for Charnock as they started the livelier before Rob Worrall got Heys going again, doing the same ten minutes later.

This was to start a spell of intense pressure from the home side and on sixty-three minutes Green split the visiting defence but fired wide, and shortly after Hamer, in the Charnock goal, made a superb double save. The first from a shot by Louis Holt and then the follow up from Reece Lascelles-Higgins.

Heys pressure told on seventy minutes, and it was Dre Taylor on the left who knocked a peach of a ball over to Holt, at the far post, to head home past Hamer for a deserved equaliser.

Prestwich continued to press in search of a winner, but it was the visitors who could have snatched it with two late chances. Firstly, on eighty-five minutes, Luke Power put Jordan Darr through one on one with Hall but fired wide. The second was in the third minute of injury time when Alexandre Santos rattled the post with a shot from eight yards that nearly stunned the home crowd.

This was to be the last action of the day as referee Sands blew for full time, both teams had chances to win this one but had to settle for a point and on reflection this was a fair result.

TEAM: Austyn Hall, Reece Lascelles-Higgins, Louie Hutchinson, James Badrock (Capt.), Matthew Smyth, Liam Cuthbert, Bryson Appleton, Rob Worrall, Louis Holt, Nicholas Dre Taylor,
Tobias Green, Subs: Alistair Bracken (for Lascelles-Higgins 76 mins), Abdul Djalo (for Cuthbert 76 mins), Ellis Richardson (for Holt 90+1), Lewis Ayres (for Worrall 86 mins), Josh Tinker