WIRRAL Borough Council pulled the plug early in the week on any games being played on council-controlled pitches, which affected most games in all Wirral Sunday leagues.

Jan 30 2008 by James Maloney, Birkenhead News

Most league secretaries felt this was a bit premature as most pitches had dried out and were quite playable by the weekend.

And as most match officials have been instructed on pitch inspections, it is felt among member clubs they are able to decide if grounds are safe for games to go ahead. Some games were played thanks to the hard work of the ground staff, where teams have their facilities.

In the Wirral District Premier Cup, Queens Park had an emphatic 12-0 win over Swan Castrol. Lee Gibson opened the scoring on 15 minutes and added a second in the 20th minute.

This was after Swan had hit the post with a great free-kick and put a shot narrowly wide a minute later. But Queens showed how strong they were as Liam Atherton hit five, the first in the 35th minute and the last in the 85th. In between, Mickey Burke scored a hat-trick and James Atherton added two to send Queens through to the semi-finals.

In the Houlihan’s Challenge Cup, Shaftesbury went through to the next round by beating Houlihan’s Variety Club 3-1, the goals coming from Cassidy, Alan Morton and Steve Murphy.

In the only league game played, Shaftesbury B drew with The George 1-1. Shaftesbury’s scorer was Robinson and Huxley replied.

In the Youth Division, Ellesmere Port edged it in the 89th minute against Vauxhall Motors with a Jack Sheppard penalty in what was an exciting end-to-end game and a great advert for youth football.

In the Cheshire Youth Cup, Poulton Victoria Youth went out 1-0 to Christleton Youth.

Houlihan’s Birkenhead Sunday Football League Division Three: Shaftesbury B 1 (Robinson) The George 1 (Huxley). Youth Division: Vauxhall Motors Youth 0 Ellesmere Port Youth 1 (Shepard, pen 89). Newton Youth 1 Heswall Youth 3. Cheshire Youth Cup (U17s) fourth round: Christleton 1 Poulton Victoria Youth 0. Wirral Premier Cup fourth round: Queens Park 12 (Gibson 3, Burke 3, L Atherton 5, J Atherton 2) Castrol Swan 0. Houlihan’s Memorial Challenge Cup third round: Shaftesbury A 3 (Cassidy, Moreton, Murphy) Houlihans Variety Club 1.