Marc Grocott scored the decisive goal as Leek Town beat Prescot Cables 1-0 to move 10 points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League West.
The Blues stalwart bundled the ball home after a goalmouth scramble to be the difference-maker between the division’s top two in a tense, cagey affair. While Cables had a lot of possession, they couldn’t break down the stubborn Staffordshire side.
Josh Brehaut’s side could’ve wrapped up the win late on from the penalty spot after Thomas Carr was brought down. But, Rob Stevenson failed to kill the game as he sent his spot-kick way over the bar.
The hosts’ best opportunity came via Franny Smith late on. The Cables midfielder curled a free-kick around the wall but Dino Visser was equal to it at full stretch.
It was a bitterly disappointing night for the Merseyside title challengers in front of 895 fans. In the first-half, they looked the more likely to get the breakthrough but Leek withstood the pressure to frustrate Cables.
Already with a seven-point deficit to overcome, the Bulls knew that they had to be on the front-foot which led to Leek soaking up the pressure.
Despite the dominance on the ball, there were warning signs at the other end with Stevenson forcing Allen into a diving save. A change in impetus from the visitors for the second-half saw their pressure ramp up.
Grocott initially came close steering the cutback wide. But just after the hour-mark, the deadlock was broken as he reacted fastest from Allen’s save to bundle the ball home.
Cables huffed and puffed in a bid to gain an avenue back into the game but saw their efforts thwarted by a dogged defensive display.
Leek have suffered playoff semi-final disappointment in successive years at the hands of Runcorn Linnets. The win moved them one step closer to achieving promotion with a hefty cushion. The celebrations at full-time from the visitors showed how much it meant to them, and also offered a hint into their belief with the games ticking down.
Daley’s side have yet to beat any of their top five rivals this season, but disappointment was etched on their faces, they went toe-to-toe with the team sure to be champions-elect.
‘They’ll win it’
Prescot Cables manager Ste Daley told Off The Park: “They’re a well-drilled machine, a very good team and I don’t think there was a lot in the game. We went toe-to-toe with them and it was a game we very much expected, two good teams going at it, they probably shaded it.
“I’m proud of the boys, we weren’t great on Saturday but we got a reaction tonight, on another day maybe we get something out of the game. It was a typical top-of-the-league clashes, two teams not giving away much, they’re very organised and got the scrappy goal in the end – that’s football.
“They’re a very good team, they’ll go on and win it, the gap is too big now but we’ve got to understand how far we’ve come. We’ve come far, we just went toe-to-toe with the best team in the league.
“It was a game we knew that if we won, it could keep it (the title-race) alive, not just for us but the rest of the league, you can hear them in the dressing room you know how much it means to them. Again, it shows how much we’ve come, they know they came against a good side and their reaction says it all. We’ll go again.
“There were margins in the game, on another day, it could go another way. The lads realise how good they are, there’s no teams at this level that well organised and drilled and probably the best team we’ve played.”
[Featured Image: John Middleton – Prescot Cables]
