St Helens Town 2-5 Chadderton: Time for the phoenix to rise from the ashes

Football clubs have their highs and lows - whatever level they play at - and Town fall into the latter category at this moment in time.

It’s sad to see them already relegated from the first division of the North West Counties Football League - 35 years since I watched them from the Wembley press box lift the FA Vase following a 3-2 victory over Warrington Town.

Few magical moments have come the club’s way during the past three decades but like a phoenix they will hopefully rise from the ashes and bring back the good days in the not too distant future.

Their latest setback came against Chadderton at Ruskin Drive on Saturday - defeat number 27 from 35 league matches played in a season which has turned into something of a nightmare.

Town are not playing as poorly as their form suggests but wins are hard to come by as they found out against their Oldham rivals, who raced into a 3-0 half-time lead.

Mark Ashworth struck first with only five minutes on the referee’s watch, Joseph Richards added a second (12 mins) and then Adam Dale notched a third (36 mins).

Hot-shot Elliot Hughes responded by reducing the arrears to give Town a glimmer of a chance but Chadderton stepped on the gas and netted further goals through Malachi Clarke ( 78 mins) and Corry Knight (90 mins ).

But the hosts showed their never-say-die spirit by cutting the arrears in injury-time through Carmel Tuloma.

Teams

Town: Price, Caddick, Brown, Kamara, Clarke (P.), McHugh, Apperley, Cartwright, Hughes, Sonka, Korie-Butler. Subs: Janson, Thomas, Tuloma, Slevin.

Chadderton: Patel, Clarke(M.), Pauley, Schofield, Ashworth, Rutter, Sinott, Kisimba, Dale, Dean, Richards. Subs: Abioya, Seymour, Arhin, Mendes, Knight.