Lewis On Sport

Five-star Darwen thrash Cleator Moor Celtic

A dominant Darwen put on a show against bottom-of-the-table Cleator Moor Celtic on Wednesday night, running out 5-1 winners at the WEC Group Anchor Ground.

Rio Wilson-Heyes opened the scoring from range for The Salmoners, before a brace from Leon Creech and a header from Chris Smalley saw Kenny Langford’s men romp into a 4-0 lead before half-time.

In the second 45, Ryan Steele put Darwen five to the good. Connor Hammell then grabbed a consolation for Celtic.

Looking to put the disappointment of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat behind them, The Salmoners got the contest underway.

Gary Basterfield registered Darwen’s first effort on target of the night. The full-back cut inside from the left and unleashed a fierce strike that forced a decent save out of Luke McKnight in the Celtic goal.

A strong stop from Louis Hood at his near, right-hand post prevented the visitors from taking an early lead.

Darwen’s man between the sticks was called into action again seconds later, saving a shot from a quickly-taken corner.

Moments later, The Reds took the lead. Wilson-Heyes collected around 30 yards out and drove towards goal. The midfielder then smashed the ball, right-footed, into the top-left hand corner. 1-0.

With 19 minutes on the clock, a Wilson-Heyes cross somehow evaded everyone in the six-yard box, the ball fell to Basterfield, who showed great composure to find Leon Creech, and Darwen’s number 9 diverted home to give Kenny Langford’s men a two-goal cushion. 2-0.

In a rare attack, an outside-of-the-foot volley from Celtic striker Kieran Maguire was tipped round the post by Hood.

Just after the half-hour mark, Creech bagged his second, and Darwen’s third of the evening, latching on to a through ball from Jack Lynch, and dispatching between the legs of an onrushing Knight. 3-0.

As half-time approached, Steele was denied by Knight from close range.

From the resulting corner, it was four. A right-on-the-money Basterfield corner was nodded into the left corner by Smalley. 4-0.

It seemed as though everyone was looking to get in on the act when Basterfield went through one-on-one just before the interval. The defender saw his lobbed attempt comfortably held by Knight.

HALF-TIME: DARWEN 4-0 CLEATOR MOOR CELTIC

The visitors were insistent on playing out from the back. In response, Darwen had executed an intense high-press game plan to perfection, to go in at the break with a four-goal advantage.

SECOND HALF

Darwen came out looking Wilson-Heyes turned and shot just outside the area, the midfielder’s effort flew over the bar.

With 53 minutes on the clock, Steele got his name on the scoresheet, and handed Basterfield a third assist of the night. 5-0.

The Salmoners looked like a team that were really enjoying themselves, as Steele almost added a saucy sixth with an audacious chip.

With an hour gone, the visitors managed to pull one back. Connor Hammell showed good composure to sweep beyond Hood. 5-1.

At the other end, Jack Lynch went close with a low, driven effort from just outside the box.

Referee Ian Claridge turned down Darwen shouts for what looked to be a clear penalty when David Lynch was brought down in the area.

There was almost a case of provider-turned-scorer and vice versa when Steele supplied a pin-point cross for Basterfield, but Darwen’s number three blasted well over the bar from the edge of the six-yard box.

The Reds began to show signs of complacency in the game’s final 20 minutes, allowing Cleator Moor to venture forward and threaten Hood’s goal more often.

FULL-TIME: DARWEN 5-1 CLEATOR MOOR CELTIC

The referee’s final whistle brought to an end an enjoyable night for Darwen. The win lifts Kenny Langford’s men up to eighth in the division.

THE TEAMS

DARWEN

STARTING XI

1. Louis Hood

2. Christopher Smalley

3. Gary Basterfield

4. Christopher Lynch

5. Samuel Holt

6. Jack Lynch

7. Rio Wilson-Heyes

8. David Lynch (C)

9. Leon Creech

10. Ryan Steele

11. Anthony Lynch

SUBSTITUTES

12. Nathan Bond

14. Ben Langford

15. Ryan McKenna

16. Thomas Entwistle

17. Oliver Culkin

CLEATOR MOOR CELTIC

STARTING XI

1. Luke McKnight

2. Taylor Hambling

3. Luke Close (C)

4. Owen ONeill

5. Ryley Short

6. Jack Burns

7. Leon Dmytrowski

8. James Bell

9. Kieran Maguire

10. Connor Hammell

11. Daniel Hill

SUBSTITUTES

12. Aidan Howarth

14. Luke Ivison

15. Thomas James Houghton