Saturday 28th November; Vodkat League Premier Division; St Helens Town 2-0 Abbey Hey; 1-0; Mike Scully 5 Minutes, 2-0; Mike Scully 70 Minutes;  After a frustrating 11 days Town got back onto the pitch and secured their tenth win of the season against a much improved Abbey Hey outfit who belied their position at the foot of the table. Town took the lead with their first real foray forward on five minutes. Mike Scully played a fine ball out to Phil Mitchell on the left wing he did well to keep the ball in play he then advanced towards goal finding Scully with a pinpoint cross which the frontman rose to head past the visiting stopper. With the hosts a goal to the good it looked like they would take control of the game but it was the visitors who were to threaten more in the next twenty minutes of play. Daniel Cocks advanced down the right wing and his cross was blocked but the loose ball broke to John Hardy who was unmarked but he somehow managed to shoot wide of the left hand post when he should have scored.  Cocks was again in the action when he found Hardy on the edge of the box but an excellent block from John Elias saw the danger averted. Scully almost added a second for the hosts against the run of play when he chased down an Ian Frazer though ball the visiting stopper met him 5 yards outside the penalty area but Scully won the sliding challenge and with the keeper stranded swiftly turned the ball goalwards whilst still on the floor but a well placed Gareth Wager cleared the ball to spare the keepers blushes. Just after the half hour Town had Graeme McCall to thank for retaining their lead, a poor backpass as collected by Hardy on the edge of the box and his shot was kept out by the home stopper with his legs. The second half saw Town forced into two early changes as Chris Burke & Ben Kay had to leave the field to be replaced by Iain Dyson & Rob Hanley. Quick thinking by Scully almost made it 2-0 on 58 minutes when he latched onto a clearance and with the goalkeeper stranded his snap-shot went into the side netting. Graeme McCall was again called into action to keep Town in front when he had to be alert to push a well placed free kick from Lee Knowles away from goal and this let off was compounded on 70 minutes when Town took advantage of a mistake by John Paul Lewis in the Abbey Hey goal to double their lead. Phil Mitchell won the ball in midfield and found Hanley on the left wing he gave the ball back to Mitchell on the edge of the box and his shot was well save by Lewis the ball broke to Hanley on the left and he sent the ball back into the danger area the keeper looked to have it covered but dropped the cross and Scully was on hand to poke the loose ball home. A few minutes later a surging run from Hanley appeared to be halted by foul means inside the box but the well placed match referee awarded a free kick on the edge of the area and Mitchell tested Lewis who turned the effort wide at full stretch. Town ended the game in the ascendancy Dyson found Hanley who advanced and had his effort blocked by Lewis the rebound fell to Marc Stephens but his effort was also blocked by a fantastic challenge by the keeper. Hanley also has a shot just wide of the right hand upright and the striker linked with Scully who looking for his hat-trick beat a defender and shot agonisingly wide of the upright. Town however had done enough to repel the challenge of the visitors and secure all three points before a testing week when the teams currently sitting in fourth and third places visit Knowsley Road.   St Helens Town; McCall, Elias, Burke(Dyson 46), Pitts(C), Faulkner, Frazer, Fargher, Kay(Hanley 48), Scully, Stephens, P.Mitchell. Subs Not Used; Riley, Monteith, Bickerstaffe. Abbey Hey; Lewis, Middleton, Doherty, Devlin, Wager, Cheetham, Coo, McElroy(C), Knowles(Braithwaite 64), Cocks(Jones 81), Hardy(Evans 71). Subs Not Used; Levendis, Schofield.  

Tuesday 17th November; Vodkat League Premier Division; St Helens Town 6-3 Runcorn Linnets; 0-1; David Sherlock 18 Minutes, 0-2; David Sherlock 42 Minutes, 1-2; Marc Stephens 45+1 Minutes, 2-2; Mike Scully 51 Minutes, 3-2; Phil Mitchell 52 Minutes; 3-3; David Sherlock 54 Minutes, 4-3; Mike Fargher 61 Minutes, 5-3; Ben Kay 76 Minutes, 6-3; Mike Scully 83 Minutes;  Town got back to winning ways with a come from behind victory over Runcorn Linnets and completed the double over the Cheshire side in the process. The early stages saw action at both ends as first Marc Stephens found space, 20 yards out and his shot was deflected off target and wide for a corner. At the other end Rob Whyte collected a short Town pass and shot over the bar from 18 yards. The first goal of the contest was scored on 18 minutes when the visitors delivered a free kick into the box which Chris Burke headed away when given a shout he could have let it go behind for a goal kick, the ball back in play was picked up by David Sherlock and he found the left hand corner of the net with his shot. Town then dominated the proceedings in an attempt to level matters, Mike Fargher fed Marc Stephens and he shot just over the bar followed by Scully latching onto a ball over the top beating his marker and his curled effort from 25 yards looked in all the way but an excellent save by Phil Priestley pushed it over the bar. At the other end a rare Runcorn foray forward into the Town half saw a poor back pass headed away by Graeme McCall in the home goal and he had to recover quickly to tip Sherlock’s shot onto the post and behind. Normal service was resumed as Town poured forward, great work by Phil Mitchell on the left saw him get to the edge of the box where he unleashed a shot that the visiting stopper pushed around the post. Mitchell’s throw from the left then found Fargher who sent a lofted cross into the box and Scully’s header was kept out by another excellent save from Priestley.  With half time approaching Mitchell again caused problems for Runcorn’s beleaguered back line as he got in behind them but could only shot over from a tight angle. Against the run of play Town were caught with a sucker punch, the lively Sherlock latched onto a through ball and was afforded plenty of space to shot home from the left hand side of the area. It could have been worse as Town had McCall to thank when he denied William Webb from 18 yards with an excellent save. Town got the goal they deserved for their first half play when Mitchell advanced into the box and his shot from the angle was pushed away by the keeper but Stephens collected the rebound and dispatched it to give the hosts hope going into the second half. The second period started with a flurry of goals. Town levelled in the 51st minute when Fargher beat the defender on the right wing before sending a pinpoint cross into the box which Scully rose to head home. It was 3-2 less than 60 seconds later as Stephens and Mitchell linked with the latter showing some good footwork to beat his man and shot home from just inside the area. The lead was to be short lived as Sherlock completed his hat-trick when Webb found his from the left and he headed home. Just after the hour mark Town regained the lead, Mitchell broke into the box and found Fargher who shot through Priestley’s legs to make it 4-3. Moments later Scully linked with Mitchell who was denied another goal by a great save from the keeper. Town were then awarded a penalty after Fargher found Stephens in the box and he was pulled back by James Edwards with the referee pointing to the spot. Scully stepped up but sent his effort wide of the right hand upright from 12 yards. Sherlock twice almost pulled the Linnets back on terms but was thwarted on both occasions by McCall. First he got down low to make an excellent save after Sherlock had struck a shot from 25 yards and then he made another fine stop from the same player this time from the edge of the box. Town made the game safe with a brace of goals in the last fifteen minutes of the game. Ben Kay showed great feet to collect a through ball on the edge of the box turn his marker and find the right corner of the net from 15 yards out. The three points were wrapped up when Scully latched onto a kick from McCall beat the backline rounded the keeper and slotted home to end the losing streak in style and see Town rise to 5th in the table.    St Helens Town; McCall, Elias, Faulkner, Pitts(C), Burke, Frazer, Fargher, Kay, Scully(G.Mitchell 86), Stephens(J.Foster 86), P.Mitchell(Birch 80). Subs Not Used; Dyson, Woods. Runcorn Linnets; Priestley, Wood, Myerscough, Balazs, Bain, Howard, Sherlock, Case(Rigby 84), Webb(Quinliuan-Grach 79), Whyte(C)(Collins 25), Edwards. Subs Not Used; Park, Marsden.  

Saturday 7th November; Vodkat League Premier Division; St Helens Town 1-5 Glossop North End0-1; Darren Hamilton 3 Minutes, 0-2; Alex Elliott 14 Minutes, 0-3; Darren Hamilton 24 Minutes, 0-4; Adam Oakes 32 Minutes, 0-5; Darren Hamilton 50 Minutes; 1-5; Mike Fargher 90 Minutes. A poor week was rounded off for Town with an emphatic defeat at Knowsley Road against Glossop North End. Similar to Tuesday’s encounter Town went behind early in the action when Darren Hamilton latched onto a through ball, the Town backline stopped and appealed for offside but to no avail as Mark Evans played the striker onside and he made no mistake slotting home into the bottom right hand corner from 25 yards out. It was 2-0 on 14 minutes when Alex Elliott latched onto a poor pass from John Elias across the edge of the Town box and he curled his central effort into the top right hand corner of the net. Evans played a good ball from the left into the box from the left which broke to Graeme Mitchell his strike looked to be arrowing home but struck a defender and went behind for a corner. Hamilton netted his second and the visitors third on 24 minutes when he latched onto a through ball beat Stephen Kay to the ball and lofted an effort over the advancing keeper into the net. A Phil Mitchell corner from the left just after the half hour saw Dougie Pitts find space but he could only send his effort wide of the left hand upright. Moments later it was 4-0 as Town’s awful defensive display continued. Hamilton beat Evans on the left and the offside trap with Elias deeper than the rest of the back four, the striker squared to Adam Oakes who had the simple task of tapping home. Town manager Gary Bickerstaffe clearly unhappy with the first half display made a triple substitution but Glossop were still in the ascendancy and struck again five minutes after the restart, Hamilton completing his hat-trick after good work by Sam Hind. Just after the hour Phil Mitchell linked with Marc Stephens who unleashed a shot from the edge of the box which struck the left hand upright and went behind with Matt Cooper in the Glossop goal beaten. Town managed to gain a modicum of consolation in the final minute of the normal time when Mike Fargher headed a Mike Scully corner from the right home but in the final reckoning St Helens Town were beaten by what was the best team they have played this season and know they will need to improve vastly over the next couple of weeks or the slide down the table will continue.   St Helens Town; Woods, Elias(Frazer 46), Evans(Birch 46), S.Kay, Pitts(C), Dyson, P.Mitchell, Fargher, Hanley, Scully, G.Mitchell(Stephen 46). Subs Not Used; Gillespie, Clarke. 

Glossop North End; Cooper, Young, J.Kay(Smallwood 51), Lugsden, Gorton(C), Morris, R.Bailey(McNally 60), Elliott, Hind, Hamilton(T.Bailey 66), Oakes. Subs Not Used; Gotham, Williams.  

Tuesday 3rd November; Vodkat League Premier Division; Maine Road 5-0 St Helens Town; 1-0; Liam Beckford 4 Minutes, 2-0; Liam Beckford 56 Minutes, 3-0; Steven Hibbert 81 Minutes, 4-0; Robert Brocklehurst 84 Minutes, 5-0; Liam Beckford 90+3 Minutes. St Helens Town continued their awful midweek form as they sank to their worst defeat of the season on a miserable night in Manchester. Early signs were not good as the hosts started at a high tempo and spurned an early opening when Steven Hibbert shot wide of the right hand upright when well placed. Maine Road broke the deadlock on 4 minutes when they attacked down the left and the ball eventually found it’s way to Liam Beckford on the far post who looked to be in an offside position as he poked the ball home but the effort was allowed to stand. Town dominated the next half an hour of action as they pressed forward to try and level matters. On the quarter of an hour mark Phil Mitchell collected the loose ball from an Andy Gillespie challenge advanced and shot just wide of the left hand upright from the right edge of the area. Gillespie then beat his marker and squared for Rob Hanley in a dangerous position but an excellent challenge from Josh Gittings averted the danger. On 22 minutes John Elias linked with Ben Kay on the edge of the box but his effort was deflected over the bar by defender Gittings. Further pressure saw Mitchell send a right wing corner into the box which Luke Faulkner rose highest to meet but could not hit the target. Mitchell was next to threaten as his speculative effort from the right of the area was parried and pushed back into play but just evaded Hanley centrally. Mike Scully did well on the left wing, cut inside and tried his luck, the shot was pushed away and Gillespie was just unable to gather the rebound. Scully was again in the action a few minutes later when he beat his man on the left and squared the ball into the 6 yard box but Gittings cleared the ball over the bar. A Town corner on 32 minutes almost saw the scores levelled when Mitchell turned a half clearance back into the box from the right and it broke to Mike Fargher 8 yards out his shot had Town fans celebrating as it ruffled the net but it had gone the wrong side of the upright and disappointment was quickly to follow the glee. A long range effort from Elias was parried by Andy Jones in the home goal before the hosts against the run of play almost doubled their advantage. Stephen Cheetham found space 20 yards out from the Town goal and his effort had the keeper beaten but struck the right hand post before rolling across the face of goal and being cleared. Town started the second half in a similar vein with plenty of possession but were to be rocked on 57 minutes when a right wing corner found Beckford on the far post and he applied the finish to make it 2-0. The poor night continued for the visitors on 62 minutes when Andy Gillespie got into to box and was scythed down by two defenders one from each side neither of whom got anywhere near the ball but the well placed referee surprisingly did not see any infringement. Hanley was next to be denied by the home stopper as his cushioned volley from an excellent free kick was pushed wide of the right hand post. With time running out Town showed a glimpse of the side they were 12 months ago, with heads going down and goals flying in as the latter stage of play saw Maine Road add three goals to their total. First Beckford delivered a cross from the right which evaded Woods and Hibbert headed home before Rob Brocklehurst’s speculative effort from the left beat Woods and found its way into the right hand corner of the net. Beckford rounded off an awful night for the visitors when he collected a through ball deep in added on time and shot home from the right of the area. Town will know they have to improve if they want to stay in the top half of the table as the season wears on and will be looking forward to the Tuesday evening games dropping off at the start of the next month as we have a poor record on Tuesday’s in comparison to weekend fixtures.   Maine Road; A.Jones, Jay, Robinson, Mason, Gittings(McGregor 76), Strummiskyj, Cheetham(C), Brocklehurst, Beckford, Hibbert(Adams 86), Crookes(Clynes 85). Subs Not Used; Gresty, Clare.  St Helens Town; Woods, Elias, Birch(Stephens 72), Jones(Frazer 72), Faulkner, Fargher, P.Mitchell(Clarke 81), Kay(C), Hanley, Gillespie, Scully,. Subs Not Used; Evans, Monteith.