Alport fell to a 2–0 defeat at AFC Wulfrunians as the home side avenged the same scoreline at Yockings earlier in the season. AFC went in front with just six minutes on the watch and added a second midway through the first half and that was that. It was a disjointed performance by the Reds who suffered back-to-back league defeats either side of two Cup successes – an FA Vase victory against Congleton and a superb midweek win against Bridgnorth which secured a place in the TJ Vickers Cup final with the bulk of the side made up of the under 18’ s.

The opening goal saw Tom Ray net from just 6 yards out with Alport screaming for offside but the flag never came and we found ourselves behind early doors. There was what looked like a justifiable claim for a penalty when Alex was felled in the box but the referee waved play on after quarter of an hour. It proved pivotal when Dominic Dell doubled the host’s lead six minutes later to all but end the contest and no one could deny Wulfrunians a half-time lead seeing as though they were in the ascendancy for almost all of the first 45. The closest that the Reds came to halving the score came when Hughesy fizzed in a freekick that went marginally over-the-top.

In the second half it was a much more even contest and Joe Minshall put a header wide from Ivan’s corner just five minutes in and Dylan put in a decent cross which was half cleared but Skelts fired over six minutes later. On the hour the Alport fans were celebrating when Dylan found the net but those celebrations were cut short when the flag was raised for offside. There were vociferous claims from the players but after consultation with the linesman the ref awarded a freekick to the home side. With 20 minutes to play Minshall headed goalwards but the gloves of Hayward somehow prevented a nervy ending to the game for the hosts. It might have also left the home side’s supporters sweating had Hughesy hit the target after finding space at the back stick. All in all, not the best display of the season by a long way but without making any excuses at all, the pitch was extremely poor and Wulfrunians played better on it.

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