A 66th minute penalty from Leo Riley was enough to secure a 2-1 win for Vauxhall Motors at the Vaneupen Stadium on Friday night against Prestwich Heys.
Heys came into this one of the backs of two wins which had seen them climb to 16th in the North West Counties Premier League and were keen to continue that form in this one in what was to be a fiercely fought contest against a side who were also newcomers to this league.
The visitors started brightly in the 7th minute when winger Jamie Hill fired over the bar from 20 yards and a couple of minutes later fellow winger Niall Sultan also saw a shot fired over.
Vauxhall soon got into the game though making full use of the flanks on this wide pitch putting in some dangerous crosses but Heys keeper Ryan Livesey was on hand to cut them out.
The home side had a good chance on 20 minutes when striker Jack Kelly blasted a shot just wide of the left-hand post from 18 yards and it was clear they were starting to get on top dominating the midfield battle.
Heys best chance of the half was on 31 minutes when great work on the left by Krisel Prifti found striker Jack Coop who's 20-yard shot brought a great save from Vauxhall keeper Michael Dixon.
Both teams kept battling to get the upper hand and while the home side had the better of the first half the game was very much up for grabs and it was 0-0 at the break.
Motors continued to press after the interval and were rewarded on 53 minutes when a cross from left found striker Leo Riley who rifled in a shot from 12 yards bottom right leaving Heys keeper Livesey with absolutely no chance.
Heys replied quickly on 62 minutes when a long clearance from keeper Livesey found Jamie Hill on the right just in front of the half way line and he bloke clear beating the defender and with the keeper Dixon advancing slotted the ball past him into the bottom left-hand corner for the equaliser.
Ryan Shenton replaced Niall Sultan just after and it was Shenton straight into the action on 66 minutes when he committed a foul just inside the box and the referee awarded a spot kick which was converted by Leo Riley for his second of the evening.
Vauxhall continued to press forward with Heys struggling to create in the final third and couldn't get a grip of the midfield to gain control and this highly charged game saw eight yellow cards brandished by the referee as chances in the last twenty minutes were few and far between with just a deep shot from 25 yards from Heys midfielder Brad Sixsmith in the 75th minute being the only opening for the visitors as the half went on.
That was until the fourth minute of injury time when a corner on the left was flicked into the box by Heys centre half Aidy Bellamy resulting in a crowded scene on the six-yard box. In the melee the ball broke to Shenton who somehow shot over the bar from close range and ending Heys hopes for the evening as the referee blew the final whistle shortly after.
So, defeat for Prestwich in this one after a disappointing second half display and Heys next game is against Lower Breck on Saturday 11th September where manager Matt Barnes will be eager to see his team bounce back to winning ways.