City of Liverpool made it back to back wins to move another place up the NPL West division table on Saturday.
It was a similar story of another first half goal salvo which saw the Purps take the points against Trafford, with the hosts looking good value for the win before former loanee Ben Finley made them sweat late on.
Manager Paul McNally was without midfielder Michael Simpson owing to the injury which saw him come off in the second half at Hanley last weekend, whilst Jack Hazlehurst remains on the treatment table.
Fit-again skipper Nathan Burke replaced Simmo, whilst there was a place on the bench for new signing Danny Mitchley for the first time since he joined the club in September.
A cagey and somewhat scrappy opening 20 minutes saw very little in the way of goalmouth action, other than a half chance in the first minute which saw Trafford’s Michael Burke fire narrowly wide.
The visitors looked to utilise towering forward Thomas Bentham but with the wind swirling this made long balls difficult to perfect.
The Trafford target man was well marshalled by Adam Hughes and Ryan Schofield, whilst goalkeeper Ryan Hamer was also on his toes to mop up any swirling balls into the channel.
City of Liverpool were content to get the ball down and patiently look for openings, particularly down the left where Louis Corrigan, Max Allen and Jay Edgar were particularly impressive in moving possession down the flank.
The Purps took the lead after 22 minutes when a deep in-swinging corner from the left by Nathan Burke was headed back into the danger area goal by Peter Wylie, which saw top scorer James Steele deftly flick home with a back-header from close range.
It could have been two a matter of three minutes later when a deep cross from the left by the marauding Edgar saw Kevin Ellison barged in the box, but the referee waved play on.
The loose ball broke to a handily-placed Nathan Burke who hammered over from just inside the Trafford box when it looked for all the world that the net was about to ripple.
Burke wouldn’t have to wait long for his goal however, as within a minute the skipper put daylight between his side and Trafford.
Another deep cross from Edgar was flicked back by John McGrath, finding Burke who broke late into the area and fired a bouncing finish which slotted beyond the advancing Matthew Cooper.
The Purps were full of confidence and attacking intent, and it should have been three after 30 minutes when James Steele broke down the left of the box before cutting inside and firing a right footed finish which beat Cooper but was agonisingly hacked off the line by a covering defender.
The loose ball then narrowly evaded Ellison who looked to smuggle it home.
The home side would take a firm grip of the match within minutes, as Paul McNally’s side made it an eleven minute, three goal salvo.
A terrible backless from Trafford, a theme of the opening half hour our so, saw Jay Edgar the grateful recipient.
The winger capped off an excellent opening spell for himself by taking full advantage of the mistake, slotting home left footed with Cooper exposed.
There was still a chance to make it four before the half was out as Steele exposed the visiting backline again, but he was denied by the stray hand of Cooper as he looked to lob home from the left hand corner of the box.
Paul McNally’s Purps went in three to the good at the break and looking good value for their lead following another impressive first half performance.
HALF TIME: City of Liverpool 3-0 Trafford
Trafford manager Danny Caldecott made a change at the break with lively winger Sajjad Elhassan replacing centre back Glenn Matthews, which saw his side reverting to three at the back as they looked to get back into the game.
Within a minute of the restart it was the Purps who went close to increasing their lead however, with John McGrath cutting in from the right before hammering a curling left footed effort narrowly over Cooper’s crossbar.
At the other end, the introduction off Elhassan saw the visitors looking dangerous in attacking areas, with Louis Corrigan doing well to nullify his man in the opening minutes of the half.
City of Liverpool should have had a penalty on 57 minutes when James Steele raced clear but was scythed down by a challenge from behind just as he looked to pull the trigger.
The referee waved play on, with both Steele and the supporters behind the goal wondering just what has to be done in order for a spot kick to be awarded!
The chances continued to rain for the Purps, with firstly Kev Ellison lashing over after breaking clear on the left side of the box.
Next up, substitute Danny Mitchley almost capped his debut with a stunning introduction to the Purps supporters.
The forward fired a ferocious, rasping effort from fully 30 yards which shaved the post with Trafford custodian Cooper beaten.
Jay Edgar then went close with a driving run at the Trafford defence, before skewing his effort from around 25 across Cooper but wide of goal.
The visitors looked particularly dangerous in the final 20 minutes, whilst the Purps also tailed off somewhat after a combination of tired legs and a number of substitutions impacted the game.
Trafford introduced former Purps loanee Ben Finley and the forward made an almost immediate impact, drilling home an excellent long-range strike from 20 yards after 78 minutes to get his side back in the game.
The youngster then repeated the trick 7 minutes later, this time with a tap-in at the back post, to make the Purps sweat for the final knockings of the game.
Paul McNally’s side held out to take a valuable and deserved three points against a very good side, which saw them move up to 18th in the table.
FULL TIME: City of Liverpool 3-2 Trafford
City of Liverpool: Ryan Hamer, Pete Wylie, Louis Corrigan, Adam Hughes, Ryan Schofield, Jay Edgar (Jack Walls ’87), Nathan Burke, Max Allen, Kev Ellison, James Steele (Danny McKenna ’76), John McGrath (Danny Mitchley ’63)
Man of the Match:
Jay Edgar. The Purps midfielder capped an excellent performance with what turned out to be the winning goal and was a constant thorn Trafford’s side both in attacking and defensive play. Jay gets the nod ahead of the superb Max Allen.
MANAGER’S INTERVIEW:
Macca was pleased to see his side pick up back to back three points following a good performance against a good side.
The manager praised his side for digging in late on and getting over the line after Trafford got back in the game.
NEXT UP:
City of Liverpool face Trafford again next weekend in the reverse fixture, for a 3pm kick off at Shawe View Stadium.
Details for the ground are as follows:
Shaw View Stadium
Shaw View
Urmston
Manchester
M41 5DU