North West Counties Division Two

Bootle 1 Stand Athletic 0

STAND'S 21-match unbeaten run came to an end at Bootle's Kirby Sports Stadium.

Latics battled hard against a determined and physical Liverpool side whose robust approach and hard work rate never allowed the visitors any time or space to give evidence of the marvellous football that has created their superb run.

You have to go back to the 1-0 home defeat against Nelson in late August last year to find Stand's last league defeat, and the saying you have to lose sometimes was not sweetened by Stand's lacklustre display. Yet they started brightly and a series of at least five corners in the opening ten mintes should have resulted in at least a few clear-cut chances, but none materialised.

Bootle resisted any early Stand pressure with their big, physical presence at the back and the visitors began to give up ground and space to the home side.

Up front Bootle's Ronnie Morgan and Terry Burghall were always willing and running hard while Latics front men, Wilkinson and Denham, were starved of many opportunities.

Latics were lucky not to be 3-0 down at the break as Bootle rattled the Stand bar twice through Burghall and Blundell and survived a glaring miss by King five minutes before the interval.

It only took Bootle two minutes to take the lead in the second half. The impressive Morgan picked up a loose ball outside the box . He slipped through the Stand defence with ease and shot low past the advancing Tommy Allen into the bottom corner.

Stand then brought on Steve Davis, who was not included from the start because of a hand injury. His presence at the back lifted the visitors and they began to push hard and dominate, though Bootle were still dangerous on the counter-attack.

Stuart Telfer made one of his long jinking runs, only to shoot against the same crossbar that had denied Bootle. Then in the dying minutes Mark Denham ran into the box and was upended by Blundell, but withn everyone expecting a penalty, the referee waved play on and with it Stand's chances of getting something out of the match.

STAND ATHLETIC: Allen, Anderson, Gallagher, Telfer, McCartney, Hannan, Stott, C Denham, Wilkinson, M Denham, Dawes. Substitutes: Davis (for Dawes), Carroll (for Hannan), Ashton (for Anderson). Referee: Mr J Simpson (Carnforth).

Stand's reserves went down 5-4 to Skelmersdale United in the Divisional Cup at Ewood Bridge. Stand's scorers were Mike Hunter, Danny Norton, Phjil Smith and Danny Chapman.

Latics lost 5-2 to Salford City in a Manchester Premier Cup quarter-final at Moor Lane on Tuesday night. Stuart Telfer and Lee Wilkinson scored Stand's goals. Further details on 07950 102307.