Ben Rhydding 1 Alderley Edge 3

BEN Rhydding made a flying start going ahead within the first two minutes of their North Men's Premier League game.

It came courtesy of Matty Bairstow who made a stunning impression on his third return from injury this season.

Rhydding failed to capitalise on this lead despite good-quality possession throughout the first half. Having not managed to stretch their lead, they were always going to be vulnerable going into the second half. Many players showed signs of Christmas excess as a sluggish and unresponsive performance emerged as the clock ticked away.

An unfortunate corner against the visitors saw Rhydding wince as they realised the turning point had just unfolded before their eyes. Alderley delivered a text book deflection to level and began to crank up the pressure against a reeling Ben Rhydding.

Despite clinical marking, Alderley’s star player rode through several challenges before slicing the ball into the goal to take the lead.

The final nail in the coffin came in the form of a fast break from Alderley as Rhydding watched from afar. Despite the best efforts of a brave Rhydding defence and superb goalkeeping from Will Rutter, they could not stem the tide and Alderley slotted again.

Rhydding now find themselves in a relegation dogfight with three other teams,all on the same points