Lancashire and Cheshire AFL premier league leaders Mellor kept up the pace with a 5-0 win over Parrs Wood Celtic who played some quality football on the Newall Green 3G pitch.
A goal on 54 seconds by defender Paul Swann looked to have set up victory for Mellor but Celtic gave as good as they got until a late flood of goals took Mellor home.
Abacus Media stay in second spot but had to work hard for a derby win against bottom club Bury Ams as they scored the only goal of the game.
Old Trafford and Gorse Hill are neatly tucked into third spot with games in hand over Mellor as they were convincing 4-1 winners at Bedians.
Reece Varden was the OT hotshot as he scored with a looping shot on five minutes and went on to complete his hat-trick with a fine volley from the edge of the box and an opportunist effort.
Stephen Clark made it 4-1 on 87 minutes with Bedians’ last-minute consolation coming from skipper Alex Porter.
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The other two games were close affairs as Newton beat Moston Brook 2-1 and in a well-contested local derby Chorltonians shared two goals hosting South Manchester.
High Lane moved to the top of division one on goal difference from non-playing Tintwistle Athletic with an emphatic 5-1 win over Milton.
The top game of the day, a local derby between Salford Vics and Moorside Rangers ended at 2-2 with Vics grabbing a point with a last minute equaliser after strikes from Kamthunzi and Davis had Rangers heading for victory after missing many other chances.
Newton Heath moved off the bottom of the table with a fine 5-1 win at Burnage Metro as Govan Athletic beat Hooley Bridge Celtic 4-2 to drop Celtic into the basement slot
A mid-table tussle between Old Stretfordians and Signol Athletic saw Athletic in charge at 4-2.
Division two leaders Whalley Range seconds had to come from behind to beat Mellor seconds 2-1 after Mellor had taken an early lead with a strike from Michael Atherton.
It was also close for second-placed Parrs Wood Celtic seconds who emerged with a 3-2 win over a gutsy Old Strets seconds.
Chorltonians seconds stayed in touch with the leaders with a 3-1 victory at Staly Lions.
The foot-of-the-table match had Rochdalians seconds climbing above Spurley Hey after beating them 4-0 and Urmston SC won by the odd goal in three hosting AFC Oldham.
Chorltonians Town look unstoppable in division two as they extended their lead in division three to eight points with a big 8-2 win at Moston Brook seconds.
Oldham Vics moved to within a point of second-placed Trafford United, who were without a game, with a fine 4-2 win at Heaton Mersey.
There was a thriller at Newton Heath seconds as they won by the odd-goal-in-nine hosting Newton but it was also close for Cheadle Hulme Athletic as they won 3-2 at Hooley Bridge Celtic seconds.
The top two in division A were out of action and High Lane seconds took advantage to close the gap as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Burnage Metro seconds.
Old Strets thirds were celebrating after picking up their second point of the season sharing six goals with Moston Brook thirds.
AFC Oldham seconds were too hot for Aldermere to handle in a 5-0 win and Santos edged a 3-2 win at Bury Ams seconds.
Division B leaders Mellor thirds suffered a shock as they went down 5-2 at Bury Ams thirds and with second-placed Signol Athletic seconds not playing Whalley Range thirds scored the only goal of their game at Govan Athletic seconds and Stoconians seconds beat Bedians seconds 5-2 to close the gap on the top two.
The other two games ended as draws with Milton seconds and Abacus Media seconds locked at 2-2 and Old Trafford and Gorse Hill seconds shared the spoils in a 1-1 deadlock with Tintwistle Athletic seconds.
It is still a two-horse race in division C as Chorltonians Rovers won their local derby against Manchester Rovers by 2-1 and it was also close for Tintwistle Athletic thirds as they won 3-2 at Burnage Metro thirds.
No problems for Deans in a 3-0 win at AFC Oldham thirds and Spurley seconds drew 1-1 with Hooley Bridge Celtic thirds.
Division D leaders Hillgate were without a game and saw their lead at the top cut to seven points by Stoconians thirds who beat Abacus Media thirds 5-3 and Stocs still have two games in hand on Hillgate.
Salford Vics thirds stay in third spot after an emphatic 4-1 win at Moston Brook fourths.
Staly Lions thirds won 2-1 at Chorltonians Villa and in the other game Trffaord United seconds kept up their hopes of climbing from the foot of the table as they picked up a point sharing four goals with Parrs Wood Celtic thirds.
The game between the top two in division E ended in a 1-1 draw between leaders Oldham Vics seconds and Bury Ams fourths to keep Vics three points clear.
Stoconians fourths won 5-3 at Govan Athletic thirds and Bedians thirds also went nap in a 5-2 victory at Staly Lions fourths.
This coming Saturday sees the league cup programme back in action and for those teams still left in the Rhodes Cup there is now the mouth-watering prospect of playing the final at Bury FC’s Gigg Lane on Monday May 9 to aim for.
Open for applications
The Lancashire and Cheshire AFL is now open to applications from clubs to the league for membership in the 2016/17 season.
The league provides football each Saturday for 100 adult male (over 16) teams and is now looking to develop football for U21 players – the league had an U21 representative team playing in the current season against the South Yorkshire League to encourage the development of young players.
Interested clubs can apply to secretary Brian Davies on email secretary@landc.org.uk for more information.
