An eighty fifth minute strike by Daniel Mclaughlin saw Cheadle Town take a 2-1 win in a closely fought encounter against Prestwich Heys at the Ground Up Solutions Stadium on the opening Saturday of the season.
It was all change at Heys with a new management team of former goalkeeper Russ Saunders and Matty Russell now at the helm along with an almost entirely new team of players making debuts for the 2024-25 campaign, and it was the returning winger Erike Sousa who caught the eye early on with a couple of in swinging free kicks on the right that were cleared by the Cheadle defence.
It was the hosts looking the more dangerous though Darren Mcnight hitting the crossbar on eleven minutes and Town were ahead five minutes later when a mix up in the middle of the park by Heys saw the ball fall on the left striker Daniel McLaughlin who buried his shot bottom right past Prestwich keeper Louis Hood for 1-0.
The hosts continued to have the better of the half but Heys showed signs of getting back into it on thirty three minutes when Dylan Fitzgerald shook off two defenders to find Kade Hargreaves who's six yard shot was saved by Cheadle keeper James Hodges.
McLaughlin fired over from eight yards on thirty-nine minutes for Town but back came Prestwich in terrific style a minute later when a ball over from the left found Fitzgerald twelve yards out who launched one into the top left-hand corner of the net past a despairing Hodges for the equaliser.
So, all square at the break and all to play for in the second half and it was Heys who came out firing on all cylinders in what was to be a dominant opening twenty minute spell with Gabriel Mooney-Munoz lively in the midfield making Heys start to tick and on fifty one minutes Hargreaves down the left found
Fitzgerald whose shot was blocked and then a big moment minutes later when a lovely ball over the top found Luc Ferry clean through but his shot was easily saved by Hodges when it looked like he would put the visitors ahead.
It was Ferry busy again just on the hour down the right firing at the keeper with Fitzgerald and Hargreaves in the middle running in on goal followed by a great cross from Sousa on the left where Ferry could not connect his header and one sensed Prestwich needed to convert these chances while on top.
Cheadle rallied and got back into it in the last quarter pinning Heys back, a couple of shots fired over the bar were warning signs as was Matty Smyth's header which went over the bar from a corner on eighty five minutes.
The pressure told a minute later for the home side down the left when Danny Byrne's tried to round Heys keeper Hood, the ball got pushed wide and was
fired back into the box where Mclaughlin was on hand to fire home to put Cheadle 2-1 up.
Prestwich made several late substitutions and almost snatched a point in injury time when a free kick was pumped into the box and centre half Shay Stansfield saw his shot blocked and cleared which was the final chance as the referee blew for full time.
A frustrating day then for Prestwich Heys who did do enough to win this in an impressive twenty minute second half spell but failed to cash in on good chances. A lot of positives were on show here though, a new team needs time to gel and grow which they will in the up coming games.
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