Prestwich goalkeeper Alex Blake pulled off a string of second half saves to keep his team in this keenly contested Premier Division clash on Saturday.
Ryan Mulligan’s late strike that squirmed under Blake’s opposite number in the Little Lever goal gave the visitors a 3-2 win and moved Craig Howarth’s team up to sixth in the table.
Going in to this game just a point and one place below their hosts, Prestwich flew out of the blocks and went a goal up inside the first minute as Darren Buckley’s through ball left striker Sean Haslam a simple finish one-on-one.
But the lead wasn’t to last long as in the fifth minute, Blake’s pass out to Buckley was stolen by a forward who sent a good strike in to the top corner over the stranded ‘keeper.
And the hectic opening exchanges continued when just a minute later, Prestwich regained their lead through Haslam again as his left-footed strike from the angle found the net after collecting Tom Walsh’s pass.
It was end-to-end stuff and Lever came within millimeters of levelling once more but a low shot slammed the foot of Blake’s post before the rebound was sent high over the bar.
The home side were denied by another post on the half hour moments before left-back Mike Kirkley was harshly adjudged to have pushed a Lever player in the area. Justice was done though as the resulting penalty kick was superbly saved by Blake diving to his left.
Little Lever weren’t to be denied though and their equaliser came from a good header in the 40th minute.
After the break, the home side then saw a strike ruled out for offside as Lever continued to press and looked the more likely to score again.
But Blake was in fine form between the sticks and defended anything that came his way as the Prestwich rearguard sometimes struggled to cope with the waves of home attacks.
There’s no denying that Prestwich rode their luck a bit in this game and the Heys Road team rubbed Lever’s nose in it by grabbing a winner with ten minutes to go. Substitute Ryan Mulligan had a shot from the edge of the box that managed to find its way under the ‘keeper and over the line.
The three points moved Prestwich up to sixth in the Premier Division on 22 points. However, it’s quite congested in the top half of the table as just three points separate second placed Castle Hill and eighth placed Little Lever.
With just eleven league games left of the season (which does sound rather strange as we’re only in November), there’s very much still everything to play for.
PRESTWICH: Blake, Roberts, Kirkley, Kosub, Steadman, Taylor, Buckley, Walsh (Mulligan (1)), Haslam (2) (Smith), Hoolighan, O’Donnell (Bushell)
• Prestwich RESERVES superb winning run continued with a 2-1 win over Mostonians at Heys Road.
A brace from Andrew Morrissey (a 30 yard free kick followed by a goal direct from a corner) turned the game around after the bottom club defied their lowly position and went ahead in the game.
However, Liam Morrissey’s men weren’t to be denied a remarkable fifteenth win on the bounce.
• Prestwich A TEAM made up for a poor showing when they last met Radcliffe Town A by beating the visitors 4-2 at Drinkwater Park.
Andrew Howarth’s men got off to a fantastic start with Daniel Ingham finishing well after 10 minutes of solid pressure.
Radcliffe started to get back in to the game but struggled to create any clear-cut chances until they equalised midway through the first half.
A slow start to the second half was punished when Radcliffe scored a second to take the lead but soon after picked up the pace and played some of the best football they have played all season.
Tom Platt levelled the scores on the hour before Carl Hey continued his impressive form with his side’s third seven minutes later. Carlo Balsamo sealed the win late on to move the team up one place to sixth in Division Five.
