Lower Breck denied Wythenshawe Town the opportunity to move top as they fought hard to beat the title contenders 4-0.
It was another iconic night under the lights at Anfield Sports for the Breck as Connor Rankin continued his fine form for Gary Moore’s side with a brace.
Tom McNamara and Connor McCarthy also got in on the act with Jamie Menagh missing a penalty midway through the second half.
Prior to the match, a win for Town would’ve seen them leapfrog Vauxhall Motors to top spot in the North West Counties Premier Division going into their crunch match with AFC Liverpool on Saturday.
After a frantic and frenetic start, Rankin opened the scoring with his third goal of the season. A mistake at the back from McNamara’s pass handed the former Maghull-man a clear sight on goal and he made no mistake powering in the opener.
Four minutes later, it was two and the opening goalscorer was heavily involved again. After chasing a lost cause and bravely beating Elliot Wynne to the looping ball, his cutback found McNamara whose low effort snuck in to double their lead.
However the start of the match could’ve been much different but Breck were ever-grateful for Theo Roberts. A lapse in concentration at the back allowed Matthew Bryan in on goal but from 12 yards out, the Breck shot-stopper tipped wide from point-blank range.
REACTION: Lower Breck manager Gary Moore runs out of superlatives after stunning Wythenshawe Town
Rankin almost doubled his tally for the evening shortly after the half-an-hour mark, McNamara again was the architect as he thread the eye of the needle as Rankin’s touch was equally good. After cutting back on his left and curling goalwards, the post was there to deny Breck a third first-half goal with Wynne on hand to smother Jamie Menagh’s rebound.
Lower Breck had to weather a late onslaught from the visitors and Roberts was alert to superbly deny Bryan with his feet.
As they did in the first-half, Gary Moore’s side found the back of the net early in the second. A long throw from Alfie Cowen was flicked on by both Rankin and Jawad Jebrin only to strike the post again, McCarthy was alert to the danger and showed great composure to manoeuvre some space before rifling home a third.
Cowen was then the saviour as he had to stretch to deny Wythenshawe an avenue into the game after Deane Smalley powered a free-header goalwards.
At the other end, Jebrin read a tame backpass and was brought down by Wynne. However, the Town goalkeeper atoned for his error as he denied Menagh from 12 yards before Aaron Dwyer acrobatically cleared from a header on the follow-up.
With a quarter of an hour remaining, Breck finally put the game beyond reasonable doubt. Substitute Ryan Beigan was hacked down on the edge of the box, he dusted himself off and expertly found Rankin who stabbed home.
Match Stats:
Lower Breck 4-0 Wythenshawe Town
Goals: 8′, 75′ Rankin, 12′ McNamara, 51′ McCarthy.
HT/FT Score: 2-0/4-0.
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