Bacup Borough 2 St Helens Town 3

TOWN enter the New Year in great shape and are still blazing away on no less than five fronts, with the North West Counites League title and Carlsberg FA Vase the top priorities.

Christmas was to have had a significant bearing on the title race but the scheduled Boxing Day summit meeting at Prescot Cables became a frost victim, while snow wiped out the entire programme on Saturday, including Kidsgrove Athletic's visit to Knowsley Road.

Much is spoken about the squad system in sport these days and for St Helens Town it has been the backbone of a season of great promise which to date has meant just three defeats in 25 outings.

Gathering silverware at Knowsley Road is an established routine and having joined the Sporting Club St Helens 'family' Town are doing their utmost to play their part and would appreciate some healthy support in the crucial weeks to come.

Their latest cup venture was to prove their only holiday game to take place when progressing in the Worthington NWCL Challenge Cup on Christmas Saturday at Bacup Borough. With an eye on Boxing Day's scheduled clash at Prescot, manager Jimmy McBrideleft out seven regular starters for the tie, including the team's 'spine' of keeper Wood, skipper Jones and centre-forward Cooper.

Nonetheless the side still looked strong and local boys Mark and Steve Ashton became the first brothers since the Collins twins of the mid 1980s to appear together in a St Helens Town line-up.

The gluepot pitch was a great leveller as Town opened with Fearns and Cowley prominent up front, while for Bacup the towering Farnell got his six feet four frame onto a couple of headers which went tamely over.

Throughout, Town were simply content to do enough against a side in the lower reaches of the NWCL second division but even in cruise mode they were two up by the half-hour. One had to feel some sympathy for home keeper Sloane who was left helpless by a wicked deflection which saw Terry Nestor open Town's account on 14 minutes. He then had the misfortune to punch Morgan's left-wing corner into his own net in trying to force it over the bar at full stretch to double Town's advantage.

Despite their plight, Bacup had the game's top individual in the tiny Taylor whose low centre of gravity gave him better balance than most and he was to inspire a mini fightback which resulted in Bacup reducing the arrears on 37 minutes. Overlapping left back Gledhill was the scorer with a virtual tap-in after Town's on-loan keeper Blasberry had done well to parry a Stanley ground shot but only into the scorer's path.

On 42 minutes Bacup's glimmer of hope was erased when their towering target man Farnell was sent off for throwing a punch at Morgan and Town immediately compounded the home troubles by adding a third in the 44th minute when Robbie Cowley swapped passes with Fearns before slotting past the advancing Sloane.

Town resumed the second half considering the job done but they had a reminder within two minutes when the impish Taylor used his roving commission to appear on the elevated righthand touchline and find the top corner with Blasberry vainly stretching as it became 2-3.

There were, however, to be no more goals as Town kept the home ten men relatively at bay despite the valiant efforts of Thomas and Taylor as the floodlights tried to pierce the gathering gloom. Always with something to spare Town could have had more but a brilliant arching save by Sloane prevented Joe Morgan duplicating Taylor's earlier effort, while rashness denied Fearns when a cooler head was needed after leaving defenders and keeper in his wake.

So disrupted have been the recent fixtures that Town will not know their opponents for this Saturday until the outcome of midweek games. They travel to either Prescot Cables or Newcastle Town for a 3pm kick-off.

Supporters can contact Leagueline 09066-555-944 for confirmation or the Knowsley Road info office on Saturday morning. The same applies to next week's midweek game.