Whitchurch Alport see off rivals Shifnal Town to climb table

Alport saw off their county rivals in a Shropshire derby at Yockings Park, with Jimmy Garlick scoring both of his side’s goals in a 2-0 triumph.

This was a game best forgotten by Shifnal, as they never really managed to get going against a solid Alport side.

The writing was possibly on the wall from the first minute when Town keeper John Brown made a superb save to turn Garlick’s header over the crossbar following a left-wing corner.

Brown was again in action on 12 minutes when Jud Ellis was through. He slipped the ball inside for George Carpenter, but the keeper was swiftly off his line to block the danger.

Brown went from hero to villain a minute later, when he fumbled a long range shot, leaving Garlick a simple tap-in.

The visitors were struggling to string together two passes, and it was not until the last kick of the first half that they managed their first meaningful effort on goal.

Callum Graybrook’s corner fell to Matthew Barnes-Homer, but his low shot from the edge of the penalty area was narrowly wide of the target. Town’s hopes of getting back into the game were dashed within a minute of the restart, when Ellis was tackled as he ran for goal, but the ball fell to Garlick, who drove home from 18 yards.

Barnes-Homer tested home keeper Ellis Allen in the 52nd minute with a header from Keanu Cooper’s cross, but the keeper saved comfortably.

The remainder of the game was more even than the first half, although Alport substitute Jacob Farleigh went close to extending his side’s lead in the 90th minute, cutting in from the right, but his fierce drive from the narrowest of angles came back off the near post.