AFC Liverpool were left frustrated as they slipped to a home defeat against an organised Winsford United side.

Both sides started brightly, with AFC’s James Robinson beating the offside trap early on, cutting back and passing wide to Francis Barry, whose shot went over the bar. On five minutes, Winsford’s captain Kyle Riley had a header on goal which deflected off one of his own players to send it the wrong side of the post.

The game soon became a scrappy midfield battle with some physical tackling from both sides. Reds keeper Ryan Jones was tested by a long range strike from Winsford’s Matthew Tierney on fourteen minutes. Shortly afterwards, a Michael Girvan cross allowed Robinson to shoot for the home side, but Andrew Jones in the Winsford goal forced it wide.

Winsford had their best chance of the half on twenty-five minutes, as a Danny McDowell free kick was met by a free header for Riley, but the Reds were fortunate to see it go wide of the left post. Darren Torpey denied Riley on a couple of occasions with important tackles, as AFC Liverpool began to find their passing rhythm. However, despite more pressure from the home side, they were unable to break down a resolute United defence, and the game remained goalless at the half time whistle.

The Reds certainly began the second half as they had ended the first, with Robinson causing problems for Winsford early on. On forty-seven minutes he was unfortunate not to release his shot when clear on goal, as the referee harshly blew the whistle for a foul after rounding his marker. Just four minutes later Robinson was again put through by Steve Williams, but he was under pressure from three United defenders who just managed to shoulder him off the ball enough to make his final flick go wide.

Somewhat against the run of play, the visitors struck first on fifty-seven minutes. A deep cross fell to Matthew Tierney in the box, and he fired in a header off the post to beat Ryan Jones in the Reds goal.

Ryan Cox nearly got AFC Liverpool straight back into the match a minute after conceding, as he was one-on-one with the Winsford keeper, but he dragged his final shot slightly, and the ball agonisingly hit the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick

Although the goalscorer Tierney was later dismissed for a second caution, ten-man Winsford doubled their lead on sixty-five minutes when defender Danny McDowell, midway in the AFC Liverpool half, fired a long-range strike over Jones which dropped perfectly into the bottom right corner.

Paul Moores’ side did have their chances from a series of free kicks and corners, but they were unable to make their opportunities count. Eventually, the Reds managed to claw back one goal on seventy-nine minutes, as a free kick found Cox inside the area. He headed the ball across goal, finding James Robinson who then sent a header of equal power into the net.

AFC Liverpool, despite the extra man, could not maintain possession long enough to forge a clear cut chance once again. When Winsford had the ball, they were content to run down the clock, and the home fans did not get the grandstand finish they had hoped for.

The Reds occupy third place in the North West Counties Premier Division, with the same points tally as two other teams. They remain ten points behind leaders Runcorn Linnets.

AFC Liverpool 1-2 Winsford United

Robinson 74′ Tierney 57′
. McDowell 65′

AFC Liverpool: 1.Ryan Jones 2.Michael Girvan 3.Muktar Mahama 4.Jack Sinnott © 5.Darren Torpey 6.Neville Picton (15.Elvis Banyihwabe 69′) 7. Steven Williams (14. Steven Corris 77′) 8. Nathan Valentine 9.James Robinson 10.Francis Barry 11.Ryan Cox
Unused Subs: 13.Declan Morgan 16 Dimitrios Christou 17. Ronnie Morgan

Winsford United: 1.Andrew Jones 2.Alex Byrne 3.Danny McDowell (12. Paul McGuire 85′) 4.Jon Jones 5.Jamie Walker 6.Tom Clarke 7.Sam Marshall 8.Matthew Tierney 9.Kyle Riley © 10.Danny Egan 11.Tom Williams
Unused Subs: 14. Liam Baker 15.Dion Battes

Attendance 116