The Non-League Reds got back to winning ways, after a dominant 1st half display helped dispose of any threat from visitors Prestwich Heys, who had seen a recent upturn in performances as they battled to pull away from the wrong end of the table.
AFC were on the front foot from the first whistle and when Liam Paton put Caleb Jones through on 4 minutes, he outpaced the chasing defenders and finished calmly past the advancing keeper, to score his 14th goal of the season. The home side continued to press and on 13 minutes, Liam Paton was unlucky to see his effort come back out off the upright. AFC didn't have it all their own way though, as Prestwich forced Dave Parkinson into action on a couple of occasions. However, just after the half-hour mark, a piece of individual brilliance from Elliot Taylor as he received the ball 25 yards from goal, turned and struck an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner, gave AFC a deserved two goal advantage. The goal was Elliot's 26th of the season and his 24th league goal, which equals the Club's record held by Ryan Cox. In the 41st minute, Liam Paton completed AFC's domination of the half, as he finished off another fine move to send the home side in at the break, three goals to the good.
To their credit, the visitors made three changes at the break and looked much better at the start of the half and created a couple of half chances. However, AFC almost extended their lead again in the 56th minute when Prestwich defender, Sullivan, did well to head the ball out for a corner from an Adam Moorcroft cross. Despite their improved performance, the visitors struggled to create many meaningful chances, as AFC defended well as a unit and Owen Fisher-Jones confidently dealt with the constant threat of Sambizi on the Prestwich left. With a few minutes of the match remaining, Dave Parkinson produced a top drawer reaction save to deny the visitors a consolation. So, AFC picked up the three points largely thanks to an excellent first half display and an equally disciplined second half display. Good performances from 1 to 16, as everyone did what was asked of them to earn a good win and a clean sheet.
This Saturday, The Non-League Reds face a tough trip to play-off hopefuls Padiham. Kick-off is 3pm, any support from the travelling faithful would be greatly appreciated.
FINAL SCORE - AFC Liverpool 3 v 0 Prestwich Heys
LINE UP - 1. Parkinson 2. Fisher-Jones 3. Giblin 4. Brown 5. Sudworth 6. Murphy 7. Jones
8. Rooney 9. Taylor 10. Paton 11. Moorcroft (c)
Subs Used - Mahaffy, Beckett, Porter, Wright-Ocana, Flanagan
(Photos courtesy of Dave Williams)
Comentários