Comeback kings Dalton warm up for cup final in style

They won 6-3 over Langho in their final home game in Division Two this season.

It was a terrific second half display from the hosts, who found themselves 2-0 down at the break through Callum Darcy and an own goal.

Two Matthew Pearson goals brought things level but Tom Southern added Langho’s third in a busy six-minute spell, before Dalton flipped the game on its head.

Robbie Sanderson made it three-all on 63 minutes; Lewis Taylor, hat-trick hero Pearson and Robbie McMurdo all scored in the final 25 minutes to give their side a thrilling victory.

“We’ve had to manage game time and then injuries, unavailability and everything else,” said Marshall.

“To go 2-0 down with a few changes to the team, I did wonder what was going to come in the second half. And then when we got back to 2-2, it was unbelievable… this team don’t know when they’re beaten.

“When we got back into it, they then took the lead again at 3-2.

"Earlier on in the season and last year, if we'd gone 2-0 down when I first took over, we'd have got beat 6 or 7-0, but we seem to have instilled a little bit of belief and a bit of resilience among the group.

“Even at six, I think we could have still scored more. There were a lot of chances that went a-begging.

“I think we startled Langho, to be fair, and they are a very good team. Obviously, they've come into the West Lancs, which isn't an easy feat, and they've been fantastic.

“They've had some great results and been very hard to break down and hard to beat at home.”

This is Marshall’s second spell at Dalton United, either side of spells at Millom and as assistant manager at Kendal United.

They sit ninth at the moment and have had some memorable moments this season, including ending Stoneclough’s unbeaten run in November and then going on a 10-game unbeaten streak after that, their best run of form since 2004.

Dalton end their league campaign with three away games in five days, before a Challenge Cup Final against Carnforth Rangers at Thornton Cleveleys.

“What a lot of people won't realise and know is that our A team are also in a semi-final on Tuesday night and our reserve team are in a quarter-final on Wednesday so we can only drop so many players up and down across the teams.

“As much as the first team takes priority we also don't want to just be a one-team club.

“We’re trying to manage not only the game time of our players, but also the expectations of what the teams can achieve below us as well.

“We've got a lot of players, obviously. We have four teams, four adult teams in our club now. And it's creating quite a pathway.

“The community are really getting behind us. There was a lot there on Saturday.”

The real-life decisions and situations that come with non-league football will sometimes go unnoticed but there’s certainly a few for Dalton’s coaching staff over the next couple of weeks.

“My two assistants that I have with me, they also run the under-14s girls and the under-16s boys at Crooklands. They've both got junior fixtures on Tuesday evening (when Dalton’s firsts play Storeys).

“I will actually be on my own because the reserves are playing on the Wednesday and the A team are playing on the Thursday, so all managers are tied up.

“Whatever hits us, whatever comes at us we’ll take it in our stride. All I've said all season is we take it game by game.

“We've had quite a new crop of players this year so we've gained quite a few young lads that have stepped up through the leagues.

“We've brought three lads in from other teams and it was always going to take time but they're really getting together now and I think that even if I'm there 10 minutes before kick-off, I think they'll be ready to go and just a few words of wisdom to then kick them on, to be fair.”

Looking ahead to the Challenge Cup Final on May 6, Marshall said: “Carnforth are obviously still pushing in the league and they've still got to go right to the end of the season on Saturday, where there's going to be a lot of emotion in it for them, to try and get out of Division One.

“They've been brilliant. Carnforth were starting to grow a little bit when I was at Millom a few years ago and they were starting to come good then.

“They’ve beaten Dalton in the final previously, that was before I came back involved, so there's a few people at the club who said how nice it would be to get one back over on them! I know it's going to be no easy challenge.

“We’ve beaten four teams above us in the run to the final so anyone can beat anyone but it’ll be a great game and we’re up for the challenge.”

Fulwood Amateurs Reserves are a point away from being crowned Division Two champions after defeating Garstang Reserves 5-2.

‘The Stang’ took the lead inside 60 seconds through Jake Salisbury but Aaron Beattie hit back four minutes later.

It was level at the break but Fulwood took control early in the second half with goals from Alfie Raymond and Hugo Strand before the hour.

Jacob Lucas added a fourth before Raymond secured a brace and rounded off his side’s goal action, but Garstang Res got one back on 76 minutes through Liam Painter.

A draw at Stoneclough on Tuesday will seal the title.

Appley Bridge won 3-0 at bottom side Hawcoat Park with goals coming from Ryan Jones, Harley Ray-Hall and Danny Atkins.

Bamber Bridge Reserves put in a five star display over Galgate, who are second bottom; Alfie Duckworth, Lewis Pilgrim (2), Theo Taylor and Kacper Ganczarski were on the scoresheet in a 5-0 win.

Meanwhile, Charnock Richard Reserves won 3-2 at home over Caton United and Mill Hill beat Walney Island.

In the Premier Division, Eagley are one game away from boasting an unbeaten home campaign after a 2-1 win over Blackpool Wren Rovers.

All the goals happened over a crazy four-minute period: Sam Crook and Kieran Lomax put Eagley two to the good in quick succession after a goalless first half.

Just seconds after Lomas scored, Liam Wenman pulled one back for Wren Rovers on 58 minutes, however Eagley secured the win.

After full-time, Neil Hart’s players and staff were presented with the Premier Division trophy .

Whitehaven have struggled this season but are ending it with spirit: a 4-0 win at CMB now means they’ve scored eight in their last two games and are unbeaten in four. George Frampton and Joe Carney bagged doubles.

Lostock St Gerard’s wrapped up second place with a close-run 1-0 win at Haslingden St Mary’s, decided by a late Craig Ronald spot kick.

Meanwhile, Poulton came from two goals down to beat Burscough Richmond 4-2, late goals helped Astley & Buckshaw defeat Millom by the same scoreline, Rossendale saw off Coppull United 2-1 and Milnthorpe Corinthians edged past Hurst Green 1-0.

In Division One, third placed Carnforth Rangers cranked up the pressure with a 4-0 win over Croston Sports with Cameron Holmes getting a hat trick after Ellis Rucastle’s opener.

They are just one point behind Kendal County, who rescued a 2-2 draw at Pause United.

Tom Knight gave Pause an early lead which Jordan Lynch extended midway through the second half but in true promotion-chasing fashion, Kendal County did not give up.

Ryan Close halved the deficit on 71 minutes before Jude Close dramatically levelled four minutes into added time.

It will be a truly fascinating end to this promotion race over the next week as both sides have two games remaining, one at home and one away, and any dropped points could prove costly.

It seems like the battle for survival will go down to the wire as well.

Turton won 3-1 at Askam United to move themselves three points clear of the drop zone in their final game with Kingsley Williams, Richard Woodward and Jack Coop scoring.

As much as Turton have done all they can, Crooklands Casuals and Slyne with Hest can very much change the picture down the bottom of the table.

Slyne, six points from safety with two games to play and a worse goal difference than Turton, kept their hopes alive with a 1-0 win over Lytham Town; Sonnie Thompson was the difference.

Crooklands Casuals, meanwhile, are three points behind Turton. They were not in action this weekend and have one game remaining, which will be played next Saturday.

Kendal United comprehensively beat Chipping 6-0 thanks to a Matt Kennedy hat trick, a brace from Joe Hodgson and a Steve Brown goal.

Holker Old Boys Reserves defeated Crooklands Casuals 6-0 too: Frankie Ellis 10, Noah Williams (2), James Cresswell and Brandon Collins (2) all got in on the goalscoring action.

Reserve Division One’s top two both recorded 3-0 wins as Blackpool Wren Rovers Res and Lostock St Gerards Res saw off Haslingden St Mary’s Res and Chipping Res respectively.

It sealed a second consecutive Reserve Division One title for Wrens after winning 17 games from 21 matches.

Thornton Cleveleys A won 6-0 at home to Croston Sports Res in Reserve Division Two, while Astley & Buckshaw Res won 4-1 away versus Stoneclough Res.