We caught up with goalkeeper Callum Hiddleston after back to back clean sheets

”Yeah, absolutely buzzing with that one. It feels like it’s been a long time coming. It’s been frustrating because it’s not like we’ve been playing badly, we just haven’t been clinical enough, and we’ve struggled to keep clean sheets. So, I’m really happy to get back-to-back clean sheets now, and hopefully, we can get a few more.  As a goalkeeper, you just want clean sheets every game. When we’re playing well but not keeping clean sheets, you start wondering what’s going wrong. So, I’m just delighted we managed to get another one today.”

On having a settled back four 

”Now that everyone’s back from injury, it’s helping a lot. It’s been tough with lads coming in and out of the team, but now we’ve got a bit of a smooth run, and we’re feeling more comfortable at the back.”

On the belief of the team

”We’re not going to get too carried away, but when you’re winning consistently, you start thinking about what could happen. We just need to keep plugging away and getting points on the board.”

On Today’s Result 

”It was a good result You could see the nerves towards the end. I thought the first half was excellent we had three or four good chances, their keeper pulled off two great saves, we hit the post and it bounced back out. So, overall, the first half was really pleasing.

They probably came into it a bit towards the end of the half, and I was thinking, should we have killed the game off? But in the end, I’m happy with the three points.”

After a hard game Tuesday you could see the exhaustion, especially in midfield. There aren’t many midfields in the league with more energy than ours, and they dominated on Tuesday night.

You could really see the fatigue today—we lacked a bit of energy in the second half. We’ve also got a few players carrying knocks that nobody knows about, some who can barely kick the ball at the moment, but they’re still giving it their all. So, to get a result on Tuesday night, and then come here today and get another win is really pleasing.

”When they went down to 10 men, they had nothing to lose and just threw everything at us. We, on the other hand, became anxious, thinking we should comfortably win against 10 men. We lost our shape a bit. But credit to them they applied pressure, even though they didn’t actually create too many chances.”

On the character of the team

” It’s been a long time since we had back-to-back wins. We’ve talked all season about conceding late goals, and you could see the anxiety at the end. That’s what disappointed me, we’re not a long-ball team, but we looked nervous, and understandably so.

Last Saturday hurt us again, but I’m really pleased with back-to-back clean sheets and back-to-back wins.”

Looking ahead to next Saturday

”Yeah, it’s that game in hand we keep talking about. We’ve been joking this season that we’ve been in the play-offs for the last two years, so now, let’s just go and spoil the party. Let’s enjoy it and see how high we can finish.

We’re nine points behind Stockton, but we’ve still got to play them and we’ve got that game in hand. The lads are playing with freedom, they’re excited, and hopefully, we can have a strong end to the season.”

Defender Jack Stafford has come in on a month’s loan from Southport

Jack was a trainee/scholar at Exeter City between 2018 and 2020. He had previously been part of the academy at Burnley. Whilst at St James’ Park, he was a member of the team which had a good run in the 2019/20 FA Youth Cup eventually losing to Ipswich Town.

After leaving Exeter, Jack joined League of Ireland Waterford in February 2021 and played 28 games for the club during the 2021/22 season. He signed an 18-month contract to be a member of Swansea City’s under-23 squad in February 2022.

Jack suffered a serious injury in 2022/23 and, having eventually regained full fitness, left South Wales to move to Stafford Rangers in February 2024 before signing for the ‘Port’ last summer where he has made 15 appearances this term

Happy 3 year anniversary to the current management team of Nick Spooner, Martin Coyne and Gavin McCann, appointed on this day in 2022.

They’ve overseen 153 games, 70 wins, 38 draws and 45 defeats. Their teams have scored 248 goals and conceded 184. A win percentage of 45.8%.

They managed to steer us clear from relegation in 2022 and recorded back to back 6th place finishes in the last two seasons, our highest finishes for a number of years.

They lifted the Cheshire Senior Cup in 2024 and have reached two Manchester Premier Cup finals and another Cheshire Senior Cup semi final.

Congratulations on an impressive first three years and here’s to many more!

 

On the defeat

A very disappointing defeat. We didn’t really get going. The instructions were to put balls in the box and I felt we tried to be too nice in the final third. We’re not a team that scores lots of goals from crosses anyway, but we didn’t test their young keeper – he was making his debut at this level – and that’s disappointing.

The instructions weren’t followed, they do what they’re good at, but we didn’t do what we’re good at. We didn’t try and play, and we got into a battle – we’re not going to win many battles.

The midfield broke a few times and forced a play, or we were in good positions and just wouldn’t pull the trigger, which is disappointing. Their keeper had to make one save in the first half but we didn’t deserve a goal because we didn’t create the chances.

On the goal we conceaded
It’s a sloppy, horrible goal! We were on the break, lost the ball in their third, they countered, put a ball to the far post, which I thought we should have dealt with and we had two opportunities to clear it, but the lad’s hooked it back in and got a toe on it, and it’s just rolled over the line. So, yeah, really disappointing, especially with the timing, because we’d just had a decent spell before that, without really creating anything.

On a lack of creation
We huffed and puffed, but they sat in. They were working hard while we were trying to get wide, but the quality just wasn’t there. No quality in crosses, no quality from set plays, no quality in open play, no quality in the final third.

We can’t use the pitch as an excuse as you’ve got to put the ball in good areas. They played the pitch better than us.

On the frustration that we didn’t back up Tuesday’s result
I told the boys I was disappointed. On Tuesday, the first half was a poor performance. In the second half, we scored at the right times, but does that mask the cracks? Was it really a good performance? Then we come out today, and I’m just not impressed. I thought we lacked energy.

We ended up in a 4-2-4 formation. I felt sorry for the two lads in midfield – up and down, up and down. It’s a big pitch, and if you make it big defensively, you leave gaps, which is what disappointed me.

On looking forward

If you look at our results this season, too many draws. even this game looked like it had a draw written all over it.

We need to find a goal scorer. Redders has been really good, (15 goals), but he needs help. Joel’s been great, but we’re not getting goals from other areas. We need to share the goals around and to improve this team for next season, I need a 15-20 goal-a-season striker, that’s what I’ll be looking for.

The club can confirm defender has left the club to join NPL Division One West side Widnes.  Jack came in at a time when the club had injuries and suspensions and made 11 appearances across all competitions but can’t be guaranteed regular football.

That’s along with Harry Bunn who has left the club to join NPL Division One West side Avro, Bunn made 65 appearances, across all competitions, since joining last summer, scoring 10 goals.

With his workload at Manchester City academy increasing, it was difficult for him to commit to the club so asked to leave.

We wish both Jack and Harry well

Following Runcorn Linnets 6-1 win over 1874 Northwich we will now face an away trip to Linnets in the Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final with a date to be confirmed.

After a goal and two assists we caught up with Jordan Scanlon after his player of the match performance against Ilkeston Town

On his goal

“Yeah, it’s one of those where you just need a little boost. Getting the goal spurs you on and gives you more confidence to go and do what I did with the other two goals. I just needed something to give me that spark, and taking that shot—which went through the keeper—did exactly that.

We always seem to concede goals like that, where there’s a little spill or something, so it’s about time we got a bit of luck on our side. Thankfully, it went in, and we pushed on to get the three points.”

On picking up the three points

“It felt like we hadn’t won in ages! So it was a real boost. Hopefully, we can push on in the league now.”

I think we needed a win like that, one where we grind it out rather than just playing well and not getting the result. When you’re in a tough spell, sometimes you just need to get over the line, and that’s exactly what we did. It was a good win and hopefully tonight gives us the confidence to push on as a team, climb the table, and start picking up more points.”

On the future

”Tonight showed what we can do on the pitch, especially in that second half and if we play like that again, there shouldn’t be anything stopping us.

Hopefully, we can take that momentum into the next game and do it again.”

Manager Nick Spooner spoke of his relief after the Tigers secured a vital 3-1 win at home to Ilkeston Town, which moves them back into the top 10 after goals from Jordan Scanlon, a Jack Redshaw Penalty and Lewis Thompson cancelled out Sam Parker’s opener for the visitors.

”We needed the three points, obviously everyone was getting frustrated but performances have been good, and tonight that was probably our worst first 45 minutes. It’s funny, isn’t it? We’ve played really well in so many games and not got our rewards. Then tonight, we weren’t quite as good, yet we won 3-1

Ilkeston worked hard off the ball, especially first half putting us under real pressure. We were stuck in no man’s land: do we play football and try to pass around them, or do we go long ourselves?

In the second half, our two central midfielders started showing for the ball, which allowed us to push higher up the pitch, win second balls in their half, and then keep possession. That’s when we started causing problems.”

On the Equaliser

”Jordan Scanlon’s shot—yes, the keeper could have done better, but we got the goal from it, and it lifted us. I always say that’s Jordan Scanlon for you, He causes problems all over the pitch and he was actually about to come off before that moment, but in training, he does that all the time.

I told him before the game, ‘Can I have the training ground Jordan Scanlon tonight?’ And then he scores that goal! His acceleration and pace won us the penalty as well. After that, he played with freedom and joy.”

On Jack Redshaw getting back on the scoresheet

”It was great for Jack to get on the scoresheet as well. We’ve been careful with him he’s had a few personal challenges off the pitch, looking after his family and mentally, he’s been drained.

As a club and as a manager, I had to put his welfare first so when he came off, I said to him, ‘Welcome back.’ He’s buzzing again, and I’m really pleased for him.

The dressing room is buzzing too, but I think there’s a real sense of relief. We had some harsh words at halftime because it looked like men against an academy team and we weren’t competing.

As for the penalty—it’s rare for us to get one! I wasn’t sure if it was in the box, but we got it.  But when you’re positive, when you run at defenders, you cause problems and that’s exactly what happened.”

On moving forwards

”We’ve moved up to ninth now, but we have to take it game by game. At the same time, we’ve set a standard now. I told the players that I was getting nervous looking down the table, and I haven’t done that since I’ve been at this club.

Now, we’re looking upwards. A lot of teams still have to come here, and the playoffs are far from over. If we build momentum and confidence, we can put together a good run.

In previous years, this is the time of the season where we’ve faltered, but now we have a chance to push on.”

Looking ahead to Saturday

”Next up is Workington away, it’s a really tough place to go. We’ve had a good record there, but they’re a strong side, direct, and they got a good result tonight, (away at Bamber Bridge) In this league, you never get an easy game, and that will be another big test.”

On the fans 

”I want to give credit to the fans. They’ve stuck by us. With City playing and this being a rearranged game, I really appreciate those who stayed behind. They haven’t said a single negative word.

They’ve been superb, and I’m just pleased for them because despite late goals and setbacks, they’ve stayed with us. Tonight was for them.”

 

 

Our fixture at Hebburn Town, which was postponed last Saturday, will now take place on Tuesday 25th February with a 7:45pm kick off