Alport 1 City of Liverpool 2
An 88th minute penalty broke Alport’s hearts on a night of high drama at Yockings Park. A club record 634 packed into the ground to witness a pulsating game of football between two sides with no quarter asked, nor given. City Of Liverpool arrived in Shropshire sitting just a point behind the Reds and occupying second place in the Hallmark Security First Division table. The Merseysiders knew that the incentive for winning at league leaders Alport would be a place at the summit, and Kevin McEllin’s calmness from 12 yards made sure they achieved their aim. But football was the real winner on an evening that saw unprecedented numbers turn out to stun club officials. The crowds have been climbing throughout this campaign which has seen Whitchurch become synonymous with playing an attractive brand of football, while club officials work hard to afford excellent hospitality for the supporters, who are the lifeblood of any club.
Alport can count themselves extremely unfortunate to have ended up on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline. Indeed, but for former Liverpool Under 23 keeper, Bartosz Kowalcyzk, the Reds may well have scored enough times to have rendered McEllin’s last gasp winner little more than a consolation. The big Pole spread himself twice to keep out former Nothern Ireland striker Steve Jones, with the last one at one apiece and the game into the last five minutes and on a knife edge. That came at the end of an exquisite Alport move that deserved a better outcome and the massive crowd thought that the chance of a victory had disappeared. But with Alport high up the pitch and still looking to force a winner, Liverpool countered and all of a sudden Aaron Rey was running at young Ryan Thomas, who had barely put a foot wrong all night. The striker went down under the defender’s challenge and the sizeable away following howled for the decision to go their way. The referee had a long hard look at it before pointing to the spot and Read was sent the wrong way by the Purple’s number 4 to send the away contingent into raptures.
It was hard to take for Alport who had nudged in front midway through the second half through a terrific Si Everall header from Nick Marley’s precision cross. But as the vast majority of supporters in the bumper crowd dreamt of a notable scalp, Michael Roberts quickly levelled for the Partisans. His free-kick eluded everyone in a congested penalty box, but somehow crept in with Danny Read in the Alport goal flat-footed.  It was the turn of the Scousers to cheer loudly and for the last 20 minutes the match was like a heavyweight bout with two boxers slugging each other looking for the knock-out blow. But for Kowalcyzk – who was outstanding throughout – Whitchurch would have won the match without question. A first half save from Dean Twigg, and a remarkable stop from a bullet Alex Hughes header with 11 minutes left were stand out saves, and so it was the small margins that left some of the Reds players with tears in their eyes at the end. The game was that intense, but it was some spectacle and Alport made many, many friends on a memorable night for the town’s football club, irrespective of the last minute disappointment.