St Helens Town 4 Bacup Borough 0, Barnton 2 St Helens Town 3.

St. Helens Town turned in two tremendous winning performances against the odds to force themselves up into fifth place in the NW Counties First Division table, only for the weather yet again to intervene on Bank Holiday Monday and force the postponement of their final league match against Champions elect Hanley Town at Brocstedes Park. The game has been re-arranged for Thursday, 5th May at Prescot Cables’ Valerie Park, kick-off 7.45pm.

The game last Wednesday at home to Bacup was one of Town’s best performances of the season, against the division’s in-form team. No sooner had the game started than a mix-up in the home defence let in Anthony Hall one on one on stand in keeper Ellis Hawksworth but Town’s luck held out as Hall fired against his left post. Shortly afterwards, leading scorer and captain Andy Gillespie finished off a wonderful move after Bacup keeper Josh Harris failed to clear a Town shot and Gillespie fired in from the corner of the penalty area for his 33rd goal of the season in the seventh minute.

The match was a very even affair for the rest of the first half, with Town’s defence just stifling Bacup’s attack but just on the interval, St. Helens sprang the visitors’ offside trap when a through ball found Gillespie on the break and his pinpoint pass set Danny Greene, the game’s outstanding player, on the burst and he ran thirty yards before drawing Harris and finishing with great aplomb to leave Town 2-0 up on the referee’s whistle.

Greene scored his second in the 67th minute to put the result past Bacup and when Gillespie was felled in the box in the last minute, Sam Sheen stepped up to bury the spot kick to put the icing on Town’s cake to complete a wonderful 4-0 victory which elevated Town above Bacup into the play-off places.

Saturday’s trip to Barnton was always going to be a tough affair, the Northwich side having already secured third place and with it, a home play-off semi-final. Even though they chose to rest a number of their first choice players, their selected eleven were still a strong outfit and within four minutes of the start, the home side took the lead from the penalty spot through Kevin Pollard after Ant Whelan had brought down Ryan Malone.

Barnton remained in control for long periods before Town gained a foothold through Andy Gillespie’s goal after 21 minutes, his 34th of the campaign, but then Barnton began to turn the screw again and it was no surprise when they regained the lead two minutes before the interval, Pollard heading in for his second goal from a throw-in, with the Town defence losing concentration momentarily.

The second half was an entirely different affair. St. Helens played as if their very existence depended upon it. Aaron Morris and Danny Greene, both of whom were outstanding, combined well out on the right wing to outbattle three defenders and Greene put over a pin-point cross just out of keeper Andy Burgess’ reach for Ste Rigby to head into the net for the equaliser on 56 minutes.

Town’s tails in the air, it seemed inevitable that a winner would not be long coming and so it turned out to be. In the 69th minute, Morris out on the right found Gillespie who played a neat pass back to Greene and all at once and from 25 yards, the ball was dispatched hard and low into the back of the Barnton net and the final whistle went with the score 3-2 to a jubilant Town.

On to Monday and Brocstedes Park. The club’s main sponsor, Johnsons Toyota had paid for the first hundred spectators through the turnstiles and all was set fair for the last game of the league season: that was, until the rain came again to spoil it all. Certain parts of the playing surface were dangerously flooded in the opinion of the referee, even after the Ashton Athletic groundstaff had worked tirelessly on it and the risk of serious injury could not be ruled out. Accordingly, the game had to be postponed.

If Town beat Hanley on Thursday, they will qualify for the play-offs. Barnton have already secured third place and Stockport Town fourth, so depending upon Bacup’s results at home to Ashton Town and Daisy Hill on Wednesday and Saturday, Town will either finish 5th and go to Stockport or 6th and visit Barnton on Monday, 9th May, kick-off 7.45pm. If Town lose or draw, they could still make the play-offs, but not if Cheadle win at Rochdale and Bacup win one of their two remaining games.

The play-off final will take place on Saturday, 14 May, on the ground of the higher-placed remaining club.