Our First home game against Oldham Victoria saw us go behind against the run of play midway through the first half and, through further poor defending go 2-0 behind before Campbell pulled it back to 2-1 with an excellent header from a Cook corner.  Seconds before half time the match was effectively ended as a contest in a bizarre incident.  With Wests making a substitution and having 12 players plus the coach (treating the injured player) on the pitch, the referee blew for Oldham to take a free kick from which they (much to their amusement at the decision) duly scored.  Despite the refs apology! to manager Steve Smythe, Wests were unable to raise their game in the second half conceding a late fourth to go down 4-1.

Two consecutive games followed against one of our near rivals Burnage Metro, the first game another away midweek encounter, the second at home, saw Wests lose both games by a single goal margin having done enough in both very tough encounters to have at least shared the spoils.

But poor finishing by West and, in the first game conceding a disastrous goal after just 20 seconds put West on the back foot.  With two poor attempts at tackles from the central midfield players, plus a gaping hole where the central defence should have been, allowed the Burnage forwards to run in on goal and gratefully accept the gift to put them in the lead.  Inside 15 minutes an almost carbon copy goal had followed to put them 2-0 up at half time.   Although Wests had much the better of the second half with Azuka pulling a goal back midway through, the finishing though didn't match the effort they put in.  Both teams had goals disallowed before late in the game only a brilliant save from the keeper, diving backwards & hooking away a ball that was virtually over the line away prevented Wests getting a point they would have deserved instead of a 2-1 defeat.  Picture by John Fryer

Despite dominating the home fixture for long periods, Wests were unable to break down (as will many teams) a very well organised and resolute Burnage defence, whose keeper made some top class saves particularly one in the first half from Azuka, while they themselves posed a great threat from quick breaks which they play very well, from which they scored a late winner.  A long clearance upfield from the keeper, one of many in the game found a Burnage forward unmarked wide on the right midway in Wests half, without hesitation he unleashed a terrific 35 yard shot that beat keeper Ruane going into the top corner to take their second victory against Wests.

Wests hopes of climbing the table were dented away at Spurley Hey, in an entertaining game they deserved something from & after coming from behind twice with goals from Lambert & Morley 2 the second a tremendous chip, a late own goal, the second they had conceded in the match saw them go down 4-3. A week later at home to St. Margaret and, with G.K. Ruane a late injury withdrawal Wests fielded youth team keeper Jones, who acquitted himself well, the same fate appeared on the cards as they trailed 2-0 at half time &, 3-1 with 20 minutes left but, a spirited fightback & goals from Lambert & a terrific late strike from Cook to add to an earlier opportunistic one from O'Brien (pictured) saw them get a well deserved point. Away at Hollingworth a side going well the improved form continued with good performances all round. The front pairing both scored, Cook winning a ball wide right & crossing for man of the match Lambert in the 1st half, his 3rd in 3 weeks, who with a neat inside pass in the box, then set up Cook to score a late winner after Hollingworth had equalised in the 1st half.

Away for the second week running our good form on our travels, 9 from 10 points gained continued, with a 3-2 victory against Droylsden, who led twice in the match.  After good early play Wests failed to clear from a throw & allowed a weak low cross to travel across the box & be turned in at the far post.  More good Wests pressure was rewarded when Caldwell beat 3 players out on the right playing an excellent pass to Cook who had lost his marker in centre mid, to strike a first time 25 yard shot past the keeper.  Droylsden again to the lead against the run of play when a long clearance was picked up 15 yds. inside Wests half, with little else on the ball was launched at goal & dropped inside the angle of post and crossbar .  Wests continued to press, this time with a more direct approach that paid off when just before half-time, Droylsden trying to play offside were caught out when Iredale drifting in behind the defence drove his shot past the keepers left hand post for a deserved equaliser.  The second half was fairly even, Droylsden having an attempt scrambled off the line, & Cook missing a similar chance for Wests.  The final 12 minutes became more frantic after Wests took the lead, when Cook took a quick throw-in to M-O-M. Parry who advanced 10yds. unchallenged & struck a good 35yard shot which deceived the keeper to give Wests the lead.  This prompted Droylsden to make sub. pushing a giant up front, & Wests to replace Bemowski, & move Campbell back to counter the threat that became a series of long high balls, corners & throws into the Wests box.  This paid dividends when Campbell made a huge leaping clearance under pressure from under Wests crossbar.  That proved to be Droylsdens last chance & Wests gained a deserved 3 points.

Back at home for our fixture against joint leaders Mellor, our terrible home form continued with a 2-0 reverse.  With the early play even the match was decided in the last 10 minutes of the first half, on 35 minutes a corner was cleared outside the box but, Wests allowed a Mellor player an unchallenged shot that went through a crowd of players into the bottom corner to give them the lead. Moments later Wests lost the ball on halfway it was played quickly wide left and with Wests defenders hesitating crossed into the box and driven home giving the keeper no chance, moments before half time Wests lost Mills (pictured) with a knee injury.  Wests changed formation in the second half & pressed forward creating 3 excellent chances that should have brought goals for Petty, M-O-M Cook & Lambert, but all were wasted.  Wests last chance to get back into the match disappeared when the referee disallowed what seemed a good goal from Lambert.  Mellor who had counter attacked well ran out deserved winners.  Pictures by John Fryer.

Away to high flying Newton Heath, defeated once all season a difficult match was anticipated.  It turned out to be a terrific game & only lost by Wests by errors, it got off to a tremendous start with Ruane making a terrific save in the first minute to deny Heath. For almost 30 minutes it was even, with Heath coming close twice more & West replying through Lambert & Iredale whose shot was cleared off the line.  That all changed on 29 minutes, when a harmless cross into Wests box was fumbled over the goal-line to put Heath 1 up.  This shook West & for the next 5 minutes Heath pressed & scored a second when a free kick was awarded to them that went through a poor wall to put them 2-0 ahead, moments later it could have been 3-0 when hesitant defending from backs & keeper allowed a ball to bounce over them almost on to the line, only for it to take a second bounce which just cleared the bar.  West regrouped & finished the half strongly with Heaths keeper saving well from Cook &, Iredale beating him only to see the shot just clear the bar.

  The second half turned into a one sided affair with West pinning Heath back for almost all the 45 minutes.  Lambert hit the bar after great build up play with Cook, who himself clipped the bar & had another chip well saved by the keeper.  Caldwell finally got the reward wests tremendous effort merited, when in the 78th minute he ran on to a reverse pass from Cook to place a well judged shot past the keeper.  This spurred West to to raise the tempo higher &, with MOM Campbell adding his presence in the last third as Heath defending desperately gave away a series of free kicks & corners.   Caldwell again hit the underside of the bar, Parry put the best chance of the match wide from 5yds.  Unfortunately for West, Heath held on to take the game 2-1, leaving West again with no points after playing excellently for the second week.

Our first game in Nov. saw saw newly promoted & our nearest local rivals Fletcher Moss visit us, with both teams having their share of problems, West having to call up 3rd team assist. Manager-keeper Campbell at short notice.  West dominated the early period of the game with Nevitt hitting the bar from a corner &, in the 10th minute Cook intercepted a pass outpaced the defence & crossed from the left for Lambert score with a first time shot into the bottom corner of the goal.  From this point on Fletcher took control having the best of the midfield play &, almost scored twice, the first a mix up in defence saw Campbell race back to punch the ball clear from under the bar.  With West conceding free kicks in the last third Fletcher almost took advantage & only a tremendous save from Campbell, at full stretch tipping the ball over from under the angle of bar & post.  This brought a change of formation by West changing to four man midfield, with MOM Cook moving back, this almost paid off as West regained control, Cook again stole a ball From Fletcher rounding the central defenders only to see his shot saved by the keeper making a excellent save to touch the ball round the post, this was to be the last action of the first half.

The second half resumed with West continuing to dominate, with Cook now getting the better of the Fletchers right side, he crossed for Caldwell to score what everyone but the Ref. thought was an excellent goal.  West soon increased their lead, when Cook running from almost halfway rounded 2 players & the keeper who hacked him down, only for him to roll over & strike the ball home while still lay on the ground, the scoring probably prevented the keeper from being booked or dismissed.

West didn't have it all their own way in this half with Fletcher dangerous on the counter attack & Campbell had to make two excellent saves to keep West 2-0 in front, the best from his own defender Bemowski who drove an intended clearance towards the top corner of his own goal.  A third goal for West looked likely but they were denied once again by the Referee who adjudged that an Adams (on for Lambert) shot that hit the post and appeared to be over the line before being scooped away by the keeper shouldn't count.  At the final whistle West had gained their first home win of the season.  The game made a change as both teams attempted to play football instead of the long ball game usually encountered from some teams, unfortunately for Fletcher it leaves them close to the bottom of the table. This weeks visitors were Old Strets. the divisions highest scorers but in a tight & competitive first half with both defences on top, with Bemowski & Hines prominent for West, chances were few, 2 for each side, West keeper making a great save to deny Strets. on one occasion, for West Adams harassed in the box & rounded the defender to shoot under the keeper to give West the lead on 30 minutes.   A superb crossfield ball from Iredale found Cook on the left but his first time shot went wide. The second half started brightly for West, with Cook supplying a cross that Petty headed wide, Adams run & pass into the box was knocked to Campbell whose shot was blocked on the line, he later had a shot go wide.  Iredale again crossed low across the face of goal but West failed to capitalise.  From that point Strets. pushed West further & further back & took control and, only 2 great saves 1 a double from the keeper prevented an equaliser, but, after sustained pressure a goal came 14 minutes from time.  A high ball into the box was challenged for by a Strets. forward & Cook who got his head to the ball which looped up towards goal which the keeper misjudged, palming the ball into the roof of his goal.  West pushed up a third forward to try to win the game & Lambert almost did that when he won a ball & rounded the keeper only to see a covering defender clear his shot off the line.  Strets though were sustaining the pressure in the main & in the second minute of injury time they scored a second, West allowed Strets. too much room to cross into the box, O'brien challenged but couldn't win the header & Strets. sub who had been a constant problem for West since he came on shot home the loose ball. After last weeks cancellation West entertained Spurley Hey who are in the thick of the promotion pack, the game though was spoiled by an extremely poor refereeing performance, unfortunately West were to suffer most with two awful decisions costing them goals.  West had much the better of the first half with Spurleys only real chance coming early on, the attempt being well saved by the keeper, for West Lambert & Calwell lost out in 1v1 situations with the keeper Parry headed over & Cook shot wide.  In the last few minutes of the half two decisions cost West the match, a free kick into the box was headed clear only to be knocked back hitting Parry on the arm as he challenged for the ball on the edge of the area, this the ref. decided was worthy of a penalty which Spurley converted.  Moments later a challenge on a Spurley player 30yds from goal was lost & the player advanced further scuffing his shot wide, the ref initially awarded a free kick for the challenge because Spurley had gained no advantage, after protests from West that the player had shot at goal the referee then changed his mind & awarded a corner because the shot had been deflected.  From the corner which was headed clear the ball was chipped back & the unfortunate Nevit saw the ball loop from his head into the goal to put Spurley 2-0 up at half time.  West refused to give up on the game & attacked continuously in the second half restricting Spurley to sporadic attacks, one well saved by West keeper & another just missing the post.  Once again though the excellent Spurley keeper whose handling was exceptional came out on top in his 1v1 situations against lambert & Parry, who shot wide on two other occasions, Cook had a shot blocked & put another effort over the bar.  Unfortunately for all Wests efforts they were unable to rescue anything from another frustrating home game in which they had played well overall. Due to injuries, late withdrawals & other commitments West travelled to their tough away fixture against a very good Mellor team with a weakened side. West started with a strong wind behind them and had several good chances in the first half.   Best of these were when Petty volleyed straight at the keeper, and Garcia beat 2 men before the keeper saved.   West went ahead when Iredale made a run through to beat the offside trap and their keeper, on the stroke of half time West nearly made it 2-0, but the ball ran away from Lambert and was gathered by their keeper.   Mellor had only a couple of efforts from distance to show for their part in the first half. The second half started disastrously for West when from the Kick off they played the ball backwards before giving it to a Mellor forward who slammed it past Ruane after 6 seconds to put Mellor on level terms, from that point West struggled in the match &, Mellor went ahead on the hour when the ball was cracked low and hard across the 6-yard box to their forward at the back post.  West defended fairly well but the midfield struggled all afternoon to control and keep the ball, giving the front pairing little service, another injury to a West player saw Garcia having to be replaced after 65 minutes. Lambert went closest for West when a cracking free kick was saved at the second attempt, before Mellor closed the game with a piledriver from 25yards and a 4th from close range in the last 15 minutes. West's travelled away for the second week running this time to Oldham Victoria.  On a postage stamp sized pitch West had much the better of the game, the first half saw a strike by Cook touched round the post by the keeper, a close range effort by lambert cleared off the line, a header by Lake came back of the bar and the rebound was again cleared from the line, Oldhams best effort was a shot from a clearance that beat the keeper but crept past the post.   Just before half time West pressure paid off when Lambert was fouled in the box & the penalty was hit home by Bemowski, West regular taker Cook was another injury earlier, unfortunately for West once again they gave away another goal just moments later, with a needless foul & poor defending of the free kick to let an Oldham player fire a pass into goal.  The second half was a scrappy affair with neither side creating much until near the end When West made a mess of clearing a ball on the edge of the box, a half header from a Oldham player somehow bobbled & spun across the face of goal & in just inside the post.  West pressed forward & a good strike from Nevit beat the keeper but just cleared the bar, another week when poor finishing & defending have left West with nothing to show for dominating the game.

West entertained Newton in a break from league action.  Though they are also near the foot of the division they had a second major cup success for the second week running as they won this nine goal thrilling extra time Rhodes cup tie against West.  Newton had won recently in the league &, in the Manchester cup but looked to be out of it as they trailed West 4-2 after 70 minutes, on target for West were Bemowski, pen, his second in two games, Berkley with two excellent finishes and one from Garcia, topping the strikes from Newton.  In a frantic finish once again West conceded late goals one a last gasp equaliser to take the tie into extra time, Newton took a 5-4 lead for the first time in the game, as they pressed forward West once again suffered from a poor refereeing decision that robbed Iredale of what would have been a well deserved last second equaliser.  West will be glad to see the back of 2003, and can only hope that their luck changes for the better in 2004 in the second half of the season.

The first game of the new year saw a visit to Fellow strugglers Fletcher Moss who Wests last had a victory against and were just below West in the table, but with games in hand, so a victory was essential in this six pointer. Though still having players missing West had 2 new faces in Jones & Miller, Wests sixth keeper of the season who gave the team some much needed confidence at the back having a sound game as did Jones. West had the better of the first 35 mins without managing to score with the best efforts from Jones & Parry who scored the opener when winning a ball 40yds out, and sending a shot against the bar which hit the diving keeper before giving west reward for some fine play. This spurred Fletcher into late action with a shot across the goal a header from a free kick which just cleared the bar, the last action saw them fire another free kick wide of the post. The early part of second half belonged to Fletcher with 2 other efforts troubling Wests defence West took control from then on. 70 mins. saw Lake shoot over for West & on 72 mins a needless penalty conceded by the keeper & converted by Bemowski (3 now in the last 3 games) put West 2-0 in front.

later a goal kick was intercepted by Garcia who ran on and rounded the keeper to make it 3-0. With Fletcher losing their keeper in the final 10 mins, West added 3 more goals Garcia claiming his second goal, Petty (pictured) scoring on his return, & Iredale capping a good game with a sixth goal in injury time. This well deserved win will hopefully be a confidence booster for the rest of the season, but will at least give Wests some much needed breathing space as try to stay clear of the bottom of the table.

Wests first home game of 04 as they hoped to continue on last weeks better form, saw top of the table Newton Heath at Brookburn Rd. Early play saw chances for both sides, West keeper getting into trouble on the edge of his area, & later having to make a fine save to prevent Heath going ahead, Garcia shot over as West took control of the half with Istanbul & Bemowski firing wide, Garcia had a header cleared off the line & Heaths keeper tipped a shot from Berkley onto the bar & a defender cleared the ball from the line as Garcia closed in. With Heaths keeper having a good day West looked to be out of luck until, just before half time Petty squeezed a close range header from a free kick past the keeper. The second half was more even as Heath upped their tempo pushing forward & West defence & keeper had to work hard to contain them, which they did well until a disputed penalty for handball given against Nevit midway through saw them equalise. In the last 10 minutes though West pressed harder to try to snatch the game with Iredale pushing the ball past the keeper only to see another near goal line clearance, Heaths keeper producing a great save from a free kick & Parry having a shot charged down only to see his rebound effort just clear the bar. Though overall West shaded the game & were disappointed at a 1-1 score line it was another good performance against a very fit & determined team who could win promotion this year.

West travelled to St. Margarets a team just above us in the league, so continued good form and a win would see us rise up the table. The opening 20 mins. were even though Margarets made the better of their chances with keeper Ruane keeping them at bay on two occasions, with Wests best chance coming from Berkley, that changed when Iredales acute angled shot from the right hit the post and Garcia, (pictured) volleyed home the rebound. West dominated from then on and increased their lead in the 35 minute when a cross from an excellent Petty free kick on the left was driven home again by Garcias fine volley giving the keeper no chance, Margaret's countered in the last few minutes coming closest with a free kick in the last seconds of the half.

The second half saw a much more physical approach from Margaret's as they attempted to get back into the game, unfortunately for them West were a match and were giving them a torrid time down the flanks, West third goal came in the 65 minute when a clearance from Margaret's was picked up in midfield by Cook who slid a pinpoint pass between two defenders into the path of Garcia who cooly shot the ball past the keeper to complete an excellent hat-trick. Margaret's became even more physical from that point, eventually having a player sent off which allowed West to dominate the later stages and should have had more goals than the superb 35 yard shot from Petty that wrapped up the scoring and, an excellent performance all round from Wests.

A rearranged fixture saw Wests visiting Newton who are also struggling to avoid relegation, though their recent form like Wests has been much improved so a tight game in this six point match was anticipated, especially since these two teams had met in the cup and fought out a tense extra time nine goal thriller recently, with Newton winning by the odd goal. The game would also be Wests last on their travels with their remaining fixtures all at home, so a good finish to add to the five away wins gained was hoped for. The game played in difficult conditions proved to be just as tight and competitive as the cup encounter and, with Wests unable to reach the high standards of the last three games, Newton once again won by the odd goal in three, First taking the lead, with Garcia, Wests leading scorers equaliser not being enough to prevent Newton adding a second to take all three points to ease their relegation worries. These teams meet again next week at Brookburn Road and Wests will hope to take something more from that game after being pipped twice. The return fixture with Newton for 31/1/04 along with most other games was postponed, one game that did go ahead, was O. Strets. & Fletcher Moss, with Strets winning 4-3, which helps West position in the league table, with Moss struggling just below them. (See Tables)

A rearranged Fixture against Droylsden brought another team in relegation difficulties to Brookburn Road, (a side West defeated 3-2 earlier in the season) so a good result was anticipated. West totally dominated the first half and created many good chances, Berkley twice & Garcia on another two occasions being unable to take their opportunities.

Droylsden though stuck at their game & took the lead midway through the half when a mix up in Wests defence led to a corner that was partially cleared only to be put back into the West goal. The second half looked to be much of the same until changes saw Cook go from left back to a more attacking role on the right, which paid dividends in the last quarter of the game when a cross to the far post by Lake was met with a diving header by Cook to put the ball back past the keeper into the bottom corner to level for Wests. More sustained West pressure saw Bemowski shoot wide from a good position, but Droylsden looked to be hanging on for a point, until in the last few minutes a foul

on Cook outside the area saw a Petty free kick turned in by Parry at the second attempt to give West's a deserved win and three points against a poor Droylsden team that are now firmly rooted at the foot of the table, with West's now being more comfortable in a mid-table position.

With the first team having no game for the second week running, a special mention then this week for West's seconds. Visiting local rivals Old Chorlts, they were hoping to reverse a 5-3 home beating earlier in the season, this however, looked highly unlikely when after only 5 minutes West found themselves 3-0 down. West's stuck at it and after 30 mins reduced the deficit to 3-1, in the final seconds of the half they made it 3-2 from a corner. Midway through the second half West scored the equaliser and, in the final minute went 4-3 ahead with a penalty and looked to have secured an unlikely victory, however in the best tradition of West's teams this year, conceded a late injury time goal to leave the final score a 4-4 draw. Congratulations though to Tony Sweeney and his team for pulling back such a deficit in a very entertaining game. (For league position see Seconds)

The penultimate home game brought top four side Hollingworth to Brookburn and more goalkeeper problems, with West's having to draft in Silcock, the seventh keeper used this year. He was soon in action pushing a drive onto the post in only the second minute, West looked rusty & off the pace with the changes & two week break and, didn't mount an attack until the eight minute which brought a penalty when Garcia was brought down, unfortunately Bemowski's penalty was saved by the Hollingworth keeper. For most of the half Silcock & West's defence were hard worked to keep out a very good organised team, However, midway through the half with the West defence backing off the Hollingworth centre forward took his chance to unleash a terrific 35 yard shot that hit the far post just under the crossbar giving Silcock no chance, putting the visitors into the lead, with only Parry's header, and Berkeley whose excellent run from halfway and shot beat the keeper but just missing the far post being West's replies. The second half saw a more determined approach from West's, with Berkeley, and Parry having efforts on goal, before an excellent piece of play on the right between Cook & Iredale who crossed only to see the the keeper at full stretch take the ball from Berkeley's head. West continued to press and only some poor passing, which Hollingworth used to mount some good counter attacks, prevented more goal opportunities, as in the last game with time running out Cook began to take a more attacking role behind the front pair and once again it paid dividends, with five minutes remaining, Parry rounded his man on the left and crossed low into the box, Cook making a late run picked up the ball & dummied the approaching defender before blasting a unstoppable shot high past the excellent Hollingworth keeper to level the scores. There was still time for attempts from Parry, Istanbul and, another Cook shot that the keeper only saved at the second attempt at Berkeley's feet as he closed for a winner. Hollingorth took advantage of the gaps at the back and had goal attempts of their own late on, after a mix up Silcock saved just short of the line and Hines put out a cross for a late Hollingworth corner, the last chance though went to West's with Cook shooting over as they finished the better team having had much the better of the second half, and on overall chances just about shaded the game.

West's last competitive game of the season saw Newton who are still in desperate trouble near the foot of the table, visit Brookburn. West who have lost twice by the odd goal to Newton were looking to take revenge but, feared the worst when 5 first teamers were out through illness, injury, & other commitments, this was only added too when in the second minute, Silcock again having to play in goal drove a goal kick straight to the feet of a Newton forward who ran on to round him a put them in the lead. For the next 30 minutes West were truly awful, with Silcock saving from a free kick and, the back four as a whole with Hines & Nevit in the centre in particular performing well to keep the score down, with Newton wasting a couple of good opportunities created with their direct approach. In the last 10 minutes of the half West performed better, with Bemowski & Danny Berkeley having shots saved, Darren Berkeley had two good chances the second in the last minutes that went wide. The second half saw West abandoning the short passing game in the centre midfield, which in the wind and on the bobbly pitch was helping Newton far more than themselves, too getting the ball forward more quickly, this approach worked as Newton were pushed back deeper and deeper as West took Complete control, particularly in the final thirty minutes. West equalised on 60 minutes when Bemowski picked up the ball on the half way line and played it quickly forward into space for Danny Berkely to out pace the defenders & score with a low shot into the corner. Newton held out for the next 15 minutes by luck and good keeping, with Danny Berkeley, And Bemowski being thwarted by the keeper as both looked likely to score, but they fell behind on 73 minutes when Parry won a ball close to half way and once gain played it quickly forward behind the defence to Danny Berkeley, who rolled it into the path of brother Darren, who this time took his opportunity to drive the ball home low beyond the keeper. On 79 minutes West wrapped up the game as Danny Berkeley fouled on the right crossed the ball himself into the box for Lake to score his first goal with an excellent diving header again giving the keeper no chance, Newton did manage a few late attacks as West eased off but they were well beaten at last by an excellent second half display from West's who deservedly took all three points.

Although having finished their league games, the first team still have an interest in the results of others as they can effect the current fifth & highest position that they hold, most went our way this week so we remain in the top five. The seconds though still have two remaining games, the first a difficult away game at Spurley Hey on Saturday was unfortunately lost 2-0. The third and fourth teams are still doing well in their divisions and, in the respective Cup Competitions. The thirds had no game this week, but the fourths recorded a good 2-1 away win at Old Strets. in the Halliwell Shield. The spotlight for the final game in March fell on the fourths the only team in action this week in their round robin Cup-tie against Burnage. having lost 1 & won 3 a fourth victory looked on when the led 2-0, only to lose the initiative to be 3-2 behind, when a late equaliser put them back level. This though proved to be the last action as a problem for the referee saw him having to abandon the game. We await further developments. The fourths though could qualify for the Semi's. First week in April saw the Thirds in the Q.F. of their Cup Competition, unfortunately they went down 4-1 to Old Ashtonians. The Fourth team were also at home in their Cup competition faring much better, from being 1-0 down with ten minutes to play, to finish with a 3-1 win against near rivals Old Chorltonians. Only the fourth team were in action this Easter weekend but, they lost their place at the top of the Halliwell Shield Group B when they went down 2-1 away to Mellor who now pass them to head the table. As we approach the final weeks of the season we had three teams in action this weekend. The Second team playing in their final game against Mellor, with a depleted side, unfortunately went down to a heavy 6-0 beating. There was better fortunes though for the Third team who required 3 points from their final 2 fixtures to win a second successive promotion, this they achieved by beating Old Strets. 5-1. The game was at 0-0 on 41 mins, when three goals in four minutes sent them in at half time well in control. With the wind at their backs Strets. mades a fight of it to pull one back, before two late strikes wrapped up a comfortable win and promotion. Good news too for the Fourth team who having drew 2-2 in a mid-week cup game with O. Stoconians, bounced back to win 3-2 against Old Strets. After being a goal behind and, surviving a penalty scare they hung on to book a semi-final place in the Halliwell Shield. As we reach the last week-end in April the last game for the Third team saw them visit Hooley bridge only to lose 4-3, after losing two early goals and, two players to injury & illness. They battled back to 3-3 with a Cook hat-trick after having a very poor offside decision for Hooley's third goal go against them, only to lose concentration in the final minutes to concede a fourth. The result though did not stop West's Third's from being promoted. The fourth team lost 2-1 in mid-week too Burnage in their round robin Cup comp. but still qualified, suffered heart break as they went down 3-1 to Salford Victoria in their Halliwell Shield Semi-Final in a very close hard fought and tense affair. Final game of the season for West Didsbury fell too the Fourth Team who had to visit championship chasing &, Halliwell Shield winners Salford Victoria who also defeated them in the Cup Semi. the week before. The Fourths gained revenge though by running out 4-3 winners with an excellent performance from the entire team. The win though left them just short of promotion finishing in 4th spot on goal difference. As the final results emerges from the First Teams division, they will now finish in a respectable seventh position. In a season that left them with the second best defensive record (despite having to use 7 different goalkeepers), with only title winners Newton Heath being slightly better but, with the least numbers of goals scored. West's also won more games, 5, away from home than at Brookburn, 3. They also picked up more points on their travels, 15, and only 12 at home, so it's not hard to see where some of our problems lay. Too everyone Enjoy your summer break. (See Tables)

Scorers: Garcia 7, Cook 6, Parry 3, Iredale 3, Bemowski 3, Petty 3,Berkley 3, Lambert 3, Morley 2, Campbell 2, Lake 1, O'Brien 1, Berkeley 1, Caldwell 1, Adams 1, Otutu 1, O. G. 2.   24/5/04

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