Litherland REMYCA 4 St Helens Town 2.

Eccleshall 0 St Helens Town 4.

ON a wet, windy night at Litherland Sports Centre, St. Helens Town went out of the Liverpool Senior Cup, going down 4-2, a scoreline which did Town scant justice, for the game could well have gone either way, REMYCA only sealing their victory in the final minute.

In a very even encounter, similar in many ways to the August meeting between the clubs in the league at the same venue, which Town won 2-1, the home side took an early lead through Niall Gannon on nine minutes, but Andy Gillespie levelled a minute later.

Lennon Whewell restored Litherland’s lead on 32 minutes and the teams went in at half-time with REMYCA 2-1 ahead.

Town equalised through Adam Donohue – his first goal for the club – on 74 minutes and with former St. Helens goal-keeper Matt Hodge in excellent form, a penalty shoot-out looked on the cards to split the teams.

However, Michael Boyle edged Litherland ahead in the 81st minute and, with Town pressing for an equaliser, Whewell popped up to put the tie beyond the visitors with his second and the home side’s fourth goal in the final minute.

Saturday saw Town make another trip to Staffordshire to take on Hallmark League First Division strugglers Eccleshall, three weeks after beating them 5-3 in the Macron Challenge Cup.

This time, they turned in a more commanding performance of possession football to return home with a handsome 4-0 victory.

Luke Edwards opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finishing neatly at the far post after a number of home defenders failed to deal with a cross. Paul Carney and Ste Rigby hit powerful shots from distance but both had the misfortune to find home keeper Stuart Robertson positioned perfectly behind the ball and although the Eccleshall defence tried hard throughout, they simply could not get hold of the ball.

St Helens, on the other hand, adopted a patient approach and waited for openings to appear.

Five minutes from the interval, one such chance fell to Paul Carney from a corner and he lashed the ball home from 25 yards to give Town a two goal cushion they never looked like losing, as they left the field for a half-time cuppa.

The same approach was adopted in the second half, with Town waiting for Eccleshall to provide the openings.

Gillespie scored the third goal in the 57th minute and Andy Presho wrapped up proceedings twenty minutes from time with his second goal in two league games, picking up a loose ball on the far post after others had missed their chances.

Town’s next two games are cup-ties, both at Prescot, both against testing opposition.

On Saturday, they take on Bootle in the Third Round of the Macron Challenge Cup and on Thursday night, they face City of Liverpool in the Reusch First Division Cup Quarter-Final, aiming for a place in the two-legged semi-finals.

Both opponents are currently placed second in their respective divisions, so Bootle in particular will present a severe test.

City of Liverpool have already beaten Town 5-1 in a league game, coincidentally played at Bootle, in early September when they were unbeaten.

They have lost a few games since then and could only manage a draw at home to basement strugglers Ashton Town, but will start strong favourites against Town. Both games will be played to a finish if scores are level after 90 minutes, with penalties to follow if the teams cannot be separated after extra-time.