In the Division One title race, Hazel Grove maintained their six-point lead at the summit after a superb 7-3 win over Rushford Park.
Grove looked to be on their way to a comfortable win as Jake Hamilton and Niall Brooks scored early goals in the second half after a blank first half.
But Rushford had always looked dangerous going forward and, after being denied by some fine saves from the Grove keeper they struck twice to level the scores after 70 minutes.
Grove regained their lead through Ben Brooks then missed a penalty.
A frantic finish saw them add four more goals with Rushford bagging a well-deserved consolation to end a great game that was a credit to both teams.
The other game was at Mellor who hosted second-placed Bedians and it was another excellent contest which saw the visitors take the lead but after that it was end-to-end with both teams netting twice in a real epic thriller.
The narrow 2-1 win keeps Bedians six points adrift of Sale and five clear of Bury Ams who were held to a 2-2 deadlock with Moston Brook Reserves.
The other game was a mid-table tussle with Village Manchester emerging with a 3-2 win at Trafford United after edging the first half 1-0.
There was only one game in the Premier Division and it was a nerve-jangler that leaders Moston Brook edged, scoring the only goal against a spirited North Walkden.
The win extends Brook’s lead to five points over Salford Vics and North Walkden.
The other game featuring two Premier Division teams was in the Rhodes Cup and the revamped Sale Amateurs maintained their recent good form in an action-packed 6-4 win at Abacus Media.
There was a twist in the Division Two title race as Bollington H&L fell to a 2-1 defeat at Salford Vics Reserves – their first loss of the campaign.
The hosts raced out of the blocks and hit the front with an early Ken Jackson goal but, in an end-to-end encounter, Bollington levelled with 10 minutes remaining.
Both teams went for the win but Vics produced a moment of magic with two minutes remaining through Montell Clarke, who turned his defender on the halfway line before magnificently chipping the Bollington keeper from 35 yards.
The game was an excellent advert for Division two football, well refereed by Mike Crump.
The result leaves Bollington level on points with Dukinfield Athletic, who enjoyed a comfortable Wray Cup group match win by 6-1 over Old Stretfordians Reserves. Elsewhere in the cup, AFC Stockport thrashed Hooley Bridge Celtic 8-0.
Just one league game played in Division Three which ended 1-1 between Badger Casuals and Saddleworth 3D.
Division A’s unbeaten leaders Didsbury FC were in Whitehead Cup action and had to graft hard for a 2-1 win at AFC Oldham Reserves to make it through into the next round.
Rochdalians are on a great run of form in Division A and they moved to within four points of Didsbury with another exciting 5-3 win over Manchester Rovers.
With Rochdalians 3-0 to the good at the break Rovers came back well to shade the second half 3-2.
The other game in the division saw Moston Brook Thirds securing an efficient 4-1 victory at AFC Oldham.
No league games played in Division B but Prestwich Marauders were celebrating long and hard after winning a Hellawell Shield group match in a nail-biting 4-3 win at Stafford Argyle.
The only other game featuring a team in Division C was also in the Hellawell Shield which resulted in clinical Irlam Steel Development cruising to a 4-1 win at Saddleworth 3D Reserves.
Action from Hazel Grove v Rushford Park, (Grove in red and black), Mellor v Bedians (Bedians in Yellow).
Mark hits 500 at Moston Brook
Moston Brook FC has a great record of players enjoying long and successful playing records at their club.
Joining the distinguished list is Mark Roberts.
Mark recently made his 500th appearance for Moston Brook FC over 22 years (mainly injury free) in the ‘L & C’ scoring 145 goals after making his debut back in 2002/2003 season.
His playing record to date is1st XI 241 Appearances, 49 Goals.
2nd XI 186 Appearances 61 goals
3rd XI 62 Appearances 35 goals
4th XI 11 Appearances 0 goals
Mark is currently fifth in all time appearances and sixth in all time goals for Moston Brook FC (Dave Kinder has the most appearances 893 and Michael Cahill 341 Goals).
Mark has been part of the Team Manager set up at the club for several years now as a Player Manager and was in last year’s (2022/23) 2nd XI squad which went unbeaten to win the league’s Division Two Championship.
Neil ( Moston Brook Club Secretary) commented: “We are very fortunate at our club to have a number of people who have given so much dedication and commitment both on and off the pitch to our club and Mark is one of those.
“He is a popular character at ‘MBFC’ who loves his football and we’re sure he has several seasons left in him to achieve more.
Picture: Martin O’Malley (Third Team manager) Charlie McMillan (Committee member), Mark Roberts, Mike Melia (Chairman)
Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur Football League 