Longridge ended a six game winless run with a comfortable victory over Cheadle Town.

Goals from Jack Anderton and Ethan Gough saw Town seal a big three points.

The visiting side were not without their chances but Town's quality of passing saw them edge the game.

There were a couple of changes to the side from the week, accommodating injuries and fitness.

Aaron Hewitt and Paul Turner both made a return to the Ridge, and were straight into the XI.

Toby Coar also returned from his suspension and was back in the defence.

For all the returnees, we can't forget to mention the pitch, which was in an unbelievablely good condition.

Town then got the game underway at a nippy Inglewhite Road.

Anderton was everywhere tonight.

He was involved straight away, cutting inside from the right after driving forward and shooting into the arms of Cheadle goalkeeper James Hodges.

The winger then had another effort come close, flashing it just wide of the far corner from a similar position.

Town countered with pace a few minutes later, with Mitch Marshall pulling it back for Leighton Hewitt who smashed over from the edge of the box.

The visiting side then had two big chances in quick succession.

A deep free kick landed at the feet of Jack Tierney who poked the loose ball goalwards, only for Kai Crowe to meet it.

The second chance was a massive let off, top scorer Sheriff Njie chipped it wide of the post from close range to uncharacteristically squander a golden opportunity.

The end-to-end action continued, as Turner laid off L.Hewitt who fired over the bar.

The deadlock would soon be broken though, as A.Hewitt brilliantly beat his man down the right hand side.

He crossed it into his brother, who fired it into the feet of Anderton who played a one-two with Turner before rifling it into the bottom right corner to give Town the lead.

Marshall went over in the penalty area, only for the referee to wave the appeals away despite the Longridge appeals.

Manager Lee Ashcroft was then booked moments later.

Just seconds before the break, Crowe was called into action.

He sprung up to tip over a fierce 25 yard effort from Cheadle's Oliver Taylor.

At half time, Lucas Wane replaced the now injured Miller Megson.

The substitute was involved straight away, finishing a good spell of possession by firing just over the top left corner.

Ashcroft and Charlie Russell then went to their bench again, replacing Paul Turner after a good shift up top.

He made away for Will Procter.

Once again the substitution almost paid dividends, as Wane's cross was met by Procter who took it down with his left foot and volleyed into the side netting to very nearly double his side's lead.

Gough and Coar also came close, with the former beating two defenders and shooting into the arms of the goalkeeper and the latter poking just wide after a curling Anderton cross fizzed towards the far post.

Town were now looking to break the Cheadle door down.

However, Hodges kept his side in the game again, parrying away a bottom corner bound effort from Wane.

He could only hold off Town for so long though, with his defender Taylor bringing down the advancing Wane in the area, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot.

Gough stepped up and calmly rolled it past Hodges, sending him the wrong way.

Town responded by replacing Mitch Marshall with Luke Smith.

The Ridge thought they'd got their third goal, as a mazy run from Wane helped the winger find himself some space in the box.

The goal bound effort deflected into the net via the face of L.Hewitt, slightly catching him off guard.

The flag promptly raised for offside though.

For their final changes of the night, Yuvi Dewan and Daniel Wilkinson took the place of L.Hewitt and Josh Ashe, following two fantastic displays in midfield.

Town then found themselves with another chance to make it three, as Anderton was brought down by the goalkeeper after beating his man for pace.

The man who won the spot kick then took it, only to be denied by the diving Hogdes.

It did little to change the outcome of the game though, with the referee's whistle sounding shortly after.

A massive thank you for your incredible support tonight.

A very cold night in PR3 but you got down and supported the boys brilliantly.

Assistant manager Russell was happy with the performance and result.

"We needed it, especially after Saturday.

"Credit to the club and the ground staff for getting the pitch in that condition, and it suited us.

"That's how Longridge Town want to play, I think in recent weeks we've struggled getting bodies in the box, I still think at times tonight we could've filled the box a little bit more.

"We're gonna have to be at it Saturday, they're (City of Liverpool) not gonna come here and lie down, but we'll do everything we can to take three points.

"If we focus on tonight and try and put that into Saturday then we should have another strong performance coming you way."

You can watch the full interview here: https://x.com/LongridgeTownFC/status/2028962795610390708?s=20

We are next at home on Saturday 7th March when we host City of Liverpool at Inglewhite Road.

Once again, thank you for your support tonight.

The Goals

Longridge: Anderton (27'), Gough (68' P)

Cheadle: N/A

The Teams

Longridge: Crowe, Marshall (Dewan 70'), Coar, Winstanley, Megson (Wane 46'), Gough, Ashe (Dewan 86'), A.Hewitt, L.Hewitt (Wilkinson 86'), Anderton, Turner (Procter 54')

Cheadle: Hodges, Taylor (Ojo 75'), Bywater, Tiernay, Bickerton, Hevingham (Llorente 69'), Rodgers-Morris (Mohamed 60'), Cata, Kavternik (Islam 65'), Njie, Nixon