WEEKEND PREVIEW: VALLEY LOOK TO BUILD ON BREAKTHROUGH WIN

Mersey Valley head back on the road this weekend looking to build on their best performance of the season when they travel to face Pilkington at Ruskin Sports Village.

Last Saturday finally brought the result Valley had been threatening to produce. A dominant 4-0 victory over Cheadle Heath Nomads Reserves delivered the first three points of the campaign, the first clean sheet and a memorable afternoon at Banky Lane as manager Jon Hudson celebrated his 100th game in charge.

James Matthews continued his excellent start to the season with another two goals, Sam Deering added the third and substitute Aaron Johnson completed the scoring late on. Now comes a different challenge.

Pilkington have recovered well from an opening-day defeat and head into Saturday having collected four points from their last two league games.

A Perfect Afternoon At Banky Lane

After three league defeats to begin the campaign, Valley went into last weekend knowing that encouraging performances needed to start becoming points.

They delivered both. Cheadle Heath Nomads Reserves actually made the brighter start at Banky Lane, but once Valley settled into the game the hosts began to take control. The breakthrough arrived after 25 minutes when Deering created the opportunity for Matthews to score his fourth goal in three competitive games.

Any concern that a slender half-time advantage might produce a nervous second period disappeared almost immediately after the restart. Within 60 seconds, Mike Woolley set up Matthews for his second of the afternoon and Valley never looked back. Deering made it 3-0 on 59 minutes before Johnson’s excellent late header completed an emphatic 4-0 victory.

The numbers underlined the performance. Valley registered 23 shots, nine on target and 29 touches inside the opposition penalty area while restricting Nomads to six attempts, two on target and no recorded big chances. Ted Palmer-Atkins was named Star Man after an excellent performance at left-back as Valley recorded their first clean sheet of the season.

Four goals. A clean sheet. Three points. Exactly the afternoon Valley needed.

Hudson Marks A Century In Style

There was also a significant personal landmark attached to Saturday’s victory. The game was Jon Hudson’s 100th as Mersey Valley First Team manager, having taken charge in July 2023. There could hardly have been a better way to mark the occasion.

Hudson has overseen significant change during his time at Banky Lane and entered his fourth season determined to improve on a difficult 2025/26 campaign. After a challenging opening few weeks of the new season, victory number one arrived on game 100.

The challenge now is to make sure it becomes something to build upon.

League Two: September Belongs To Upton

Elsewhere, the final weekend of September produced one of the most competitive afternoons of the League Two season so far.

Three matches ended level. Barnton Reserves and Haydock shared six goals in a 3-3 draw, while Congleton Town Reserves and Pilkington produced the same scoreline.

Warrington Rylands Development looked on course for victory at Moore United after opening up a 2-0 advantage, only for the hosts to fight back and claim a 2-2 draw. Upton were the only other League Two winners alongside Valley, continuing their outstanding start with a 5-1 victory away at Maine Road Reserves. It completed a perfect opening month for Upton.

Four league games. Four victories. Twenty-three goals.

Unsurprisingly, that record saw them named the Cheshire Football League Two Team of the Month for September.

The opening month has also demonstrated just how unpredictable the division could become, with last Saturday’s three draws the latest evidence that there may be very little separating much of League Two.

Next Stop: Pilkington. For Mersey Valley, October begins with a trip to Ruskin Sports Village.

Pilkington have experienced a mixed but increasingly encouraging start to their league campaign.

They began with a narrow 2-1 home defeat against Wythenshawe before responding emphatically by beating Cheadle Heath Nomads Reserves 4-2. Last Saturday they travelled to Congleton Town Reserves and earned a point from an entertaining 3-3 draw.

That leaves Pilkington with one win, one draw and one defeat from their opening three league matches, scoring eight goals and conceding seven.

They have also enjoyed success in cup competition, recording an emphatic 8-1 victory over Liobians in the Liverpool County FA Saturday Junior Cup.

Valley therefore travel to St Helens knowing another difficult afternoon awaits. But after last weekend, they also travel with renewed confidence.

Ahead of the game, we caught up with manager Jon Hudson.

You said last week that the performances now needed to become points. How satisfying was Saturday?

Really satisfying. Not because it was my 100th game or because we scored four goals, but because I thought the lads got exactly what their performances over the previous couple of weeks had deserved.

We’ve had a difficult start in terms of results, but I’ve never felt that we’re a million miles away. Saturday was the first time we put everything together for long enough and the result followed. The challenge now is doing it again.

Was the clean sheet as pleasing as scoring four?

Probably more so. We scored four against Upton the week before and got nothing from the game, so that tells you everything.

It wasn’t just the clean sheet either. I thought the lads defended brilliantly throughout the team. Harry came in and looked assured in goal, the lads in front of him competed for everything and Ted was excellent at left-back. We looked like a team that didn’t want to concede.

That’s something we have to take forward.

James Matthews has now scored five goals in the last three games. How impressed have you been with him?

He’s been excellent. His goals will obviously get the attention, but James gives us much more than that. He works incredibly hard for the team and his attitude has been first class.

He’s in a really good place at the moment and we’re seeing the rewards from that. But he’ll know the same as everyone else – Saturday has gone now. We all start again this weekend.

Your 100th game in charge couldn’t have gone much better. Did the milestone mean much to you personally?

It did afterwards. Before the game I genuinely wasn’t thinking about it. I wanted us to get our first win and that was far more important. But afterwards, when you have a little bit of time to reflect, of course it means something. I’m incredibly proud to manage this football club.

There have been some brilliant days, some really difficult ones and probably everything in between over those 100 games. I still have the same determination now that I had when I took the job. Hopefully there are plenty more games and plenty more good days ahead.

How important is it that nobody gets carried away after one victory?

That’s probably the biggest message this week. We won a football match. That’s it.

We played very well and the lads deserved to enjoy Saturday, but one result doesn’t suddenly mean we’ve achieved anything.

We lost our first three league games and now we’ve won one. If we want Saturday to mean something, we have to build on it.

What are you expecting from Pilkington?

A really difficult game. Their results tell you that.

They’ve scored four against Nomads, three at Congleton and eight in the cup, so we know we’re playing a team that carries a threat.

It’s another away game at a good facility and I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got a little bit of confidence from last weekend now, but confidence only matters if you back it up with another performance.

Is that the message then – build on last Saturday rather than simply celebrate it?

Exactly. I don’t want last weekend to be the highlight of our season. I want it to be the point where we started moving forward.

The standards were excellent, the togetherness was excellent and the performance was excellent. Now do it again. That’s the challenge.

This Weekend

Saturday 3 October 2026

Cheshire Football League Two

Haydock v Maine Road Reserves | 2:00pm
Upton v Congleton Town Reserves | 2:00pm
Warrington Rylands Development v Cheadle Heath Nomads Reserves | 2:00pm
Wythenshawe v Moore United | 2:00pm
Pilkington v Mersey Valley | 3:00pm

For the Amber Army, October begins on the road. Last Saturday delivered the breakthrough. This Saturday provides the opportunity to build on it.