AFC Liverpool began their season in fine style at The Marine Travel Arena, with a well-earned four goal victory over Alsager Town.

The Reds, sporting their new home kit, began the game with plenty of energy, and their first chance came after just two minutes. Steve Jones timed his through ball perfectly to meet the run of Ryan Cox, but his snap shot couldn’t beat the Alsager keeper Christian Middleton-Hill from a tight angle.

Paul Moore’s side took the lead in the tenth minute when a lofted ball put Francis Barry clean through on goal. He checked his run slightly, and sent a deft chip over the head of Middleton-Hill into the net.

The Reds continued to dominate proceedings. Daniel Loughlin found space to shoot on thirteen minutes, but his shot went sailing over the bar. Five minutes later Steve Jones had a long range attempt comfortably saved, before turning provider again with a neat ball towards Cox, but an Alsager boot at the last moment prevented a simple tap in.

The Reds forwards continued undaunted and nearly repeated the same move, but this time the linesman’s flag thwarted the attack. Alsager tried to respond in the twenty-second minute with a free kick from Jack Woolley well held by Ryan Jones. Two minutes later a mazy run from Jordan Johnson nearly saw him through on goal, but he was prevented with a no-nonsense tackle, and the ball went harmlessly through to keeper Ryan Jones, with the referee waving away all protests f0r a foul.

Steve Jones was involved again as he made a neat turn outside the visitors eighteen-yard box and sent a curling strike towards goal which the Bullets keeper managed to push over the bar. From the resulting corner, Jones had a shot blocked from close range, before he eventually received the ball again, and sent another strike just over the bar.

At the half hour mark the visitors missed their best chance of the half as Woolley sent in a looping header from a tight angle, which nearly wrong-footed Ryan Jones. However, the attempt was lacking the requisite power, and the Reds keeper was able to recover and retrieve the ball before it crossed the line.

Before the break AFC had a long-range attempt from Steve Williams, followed by a free kick from Steve Jones, both of which were always climbing and didn’t trouble Middleton-Hill. In the fortieth minute Francis Barry was on hand to meet a corner at the near post, but he couldn’t direct his header under the bar either, and the Reds took a single goal lead into the dressing room at half-time.

The second half saw Alsager make their first change, bringing on Peter Heller, and initially they made a more concerted attack on the AFC Liverpool goal, but their final strikes on goal from Woolley, Jonathan Crane and Bradley Taberner didn’t cause Ryan Jones too many problems. A cynical foul on Steve Williams led to the Reds midfielder being substituted as a precaution, and he was replaced by Steven Corris, who has now represented AFC Liverpool in competitive fixtures in all eight seasons of their existence.

Alsager made another substitution, and the game became a series of end-to end breakaway attacks, but it was the Reds who began to increasingly stretch the visitors defence. Jack Warren was able to take the ball from the feet of Cox a split second before he unleashed a shot, and then did enough to prevent the Reds forward from getting enough on a header which caused it to go wide of goal.

The momentum was switching back in favour of the home side, and the Reds doubled their lead on sixty-six minutes. Michael Williams broke forward to the by-line and sent a pacy ball across the face of goal, and Ryan Cox had made a run unmarked at the back post and he finished with an assured tap in.

Daniel Loughlin made way for debutant Alex Griffiths on seventy minutes, and the Reds kept up their pressure. Barry was put through on goal by Jones, but he got too close to the keeper before he could shoot, and Middleton-Hill claimed the ball.

Cox wasn’t done for the afternoon and he added a third goal for the home side on seventy-seven minutes, slotting home with an assist from Barry who picked out the pass with Town defenders surrounding him.

With the points assured, Jack Sinnott made way for Daniel Murphy, also making his competitive debut for the home side. The scoring wasn’t over though, and in the eighty fourth minute Cox saved the best till last and completed his hat-trick with a perfectly-timed lob over the keeper to make it four-nil.

With time running out Alsager nearly had a consolation goal as Jordan Johnson placed a shot past Ryan Jones, but it was shepherded to safety before it could cross the line. In the final minute of normal time, Cox had a shot saved from close range, although Barry was possibly the better option approaching at the back post. Immediately before the final whistle, a fifth goal seemed certain as Cox was put through once again, but somehow he managed to blast the ball over the bar from two yards, prompting mock derision from the home supporters and teammates alike.

AFC Liverpool now turn their attention to their next league fixture, which sees Squires Gate visit Crosby on Wednesday evening.

AFC LIVERPOOL 4-0 ALSAGER TOWN
Barry 10
Cox 66, 77, 84

AFC Liverpool: 1.Ryan Jones 2.Michael Williams 3.Jonathan Swatton 4.Jack Sinnott © (15.Daniel Murphy 81′)5. Allen Weston 6.Daniel Loughlin (14. Alex Griffiths 70′) 7.Steven Williams (12.Steven Corris 51′) 8.Liam Loughlin 9.Steven Jones 10.Francis Barry 11.Ryan Cox

Unused Substitutes: 13. Josh O’Connell

Alsager Town: 1.Christian Middleton-Hill 2.Bradley Taberner 3.George Mannion (16. Shaun Reeves-Jones 56′) 4.Tom Brown 5.Adam Dawson © 6.Jack Warren 7.Jonathon Crane 8.Jake Chadwick (14. Jonathan Jones 79′) 9.Jordan Johnson 10.Joshua Crofts (12.Peter Heller 45′) 11.Jack Woolley

Unused Substitutes: 15. Oliver Mellor

Attendance 117