Saturday 29th December
New Mills Res 1 - Bootle Res 1

Millers Reserves extended their unbeaten league run to eleven games, with a 1-1 home draw against fourth-placed Bootle Reserves. It was always going to be a difficult game against the team with the best defence in the league, and who with games in hand are going to be challenging for top spot come the end of the season.

It was Millers who had the upper hand in the first half, but despite having to make enforced changes in the second half following injuries to Stephen Land, David Silcock and Danny Carter, they managed to take the lead when the referee adjudged Adam Blackburn to have been pulled back in the penalty area and awarded a penalty. Adam Brindle stepped up and despatched the ball low into the corner to make it 1-0.

Bootle then played their way back into the match and looked the better side in the second half, and finally levelled the scores following an attack down the left wing, firing in an equaliser at the near post. They could have pinched the game near the end when the ball hit the crossbar, but at the final whistle, honours were even.

Millers Reserves maintained second spot in the league with this result and move into the New Year with another home game next Saturday against Nelson Reserves, who they comprehensively beat away at the beginning of September.

Players and Management of the Reserve team would like to wish everyone connected to the club a very Happy New Year, and thank all those who have turned up to watch them for their support. Good Luck to the club and all the players of both teams for continued success in 2008, and lets hope the end of the season brings the achievement they deserve.

Wednesday 26th December
Millers March On: New Mills 6 - Catleton Gabriels 1

New Mills increased their lead at the top of the Vodkat Second Division league table with an awesome display of attacking football at Church Lane on Boxing Day. The win which now puts them nine points clear was as emphatic as it sounds, indeed they also missed a host of chances and hit the woodwork three times with an exhibition of refreshing football. It took only four minutes for them to open their account when top scorer Carlos Meakin (right) headed home a corner kick. On twenty minutes Meakin set up Mather to blast home the second goal and barely two minutes later Melford Knight also headed in an excellently taken corner to make the score 3-0.

Adam Mather crosses the ball

With the game won in such a short space of time it was perhaps inevitable that they took the pressure off and this allowed Gabriels to enjoy some possession and with a minute remaining the visitors reduced the arrears when Christian Evans scored.

Almost immediately New Mills went upfield and won another corner. This time it was a well worked short one – obviously rehearsed on the training ground – and Garry Kharas headed in his first and his side's fourth goal.

Garry Kharas under pressure heads the corner goalward

The second half started with a bang when leading scorer Meakin scored in the first minute to record his 18th of the season. Four minutes later and Kharas got his second and his 16th of the campaign.

Although this concluded the scoring the Millers could easily have doubled their advantage. As it was it of course did not matter. Credit must go to the opponents who have conceded 18 goals against the Millers in three matches this season, who never stopped playing football and they like the homesters were applauded off the field of play at the end of 90 minutes. For the home side it means that they have not lost a single league match at Church Lane during the whole of 2007 – a magnificent achievement! It was also their seventh straight league win as they continue their quest to gain promotion to the top flight. Manager Tony Hancock was naturally purring after the game but was quick to remind all the players that they have another important game on Saturday when they travel to Stone Dominoes.

Mark Lees run is thwarted by Nathan Finnigan and Nathan Eastmond

Certainly the crowd of 185 went home very happy with an ideal Xmas gift of six goals and three more points in the bag.

Anthony Bingham fends off Adam Cree

Gabriels watch as the ball hits the back off their net

Superb keeping from Mark Canning stopped Millers goal tally being even higher

Saturday 22nd December
Nevins Nicks it for Millers: Norton United 1 - New Mills 2

New Mills escaped the big freeze when their game at Norton United was given the go ahead and returned from Staffordshire with another three points under their belt to maintain their position at the helm of the second division table.

It was a game full of incidents and at times strange decisions from the match referee seemed to fuel the atmosphere between two sides both of which were desperate not to lose.

It took the home side just 5 minutes to open their account when the Millers defence were asleep for a short taken corner and the ball somehow ended up over the line from Teague. It was later described by Millers boss Tony Hancock as the softest goal his team had conceded in twelve months.

New Mills hit back strongly and were denied what seemed to be a clear penalty kick. This clearly angered the spectators and it seemed the New Mills side, as later on Melford Knight was booked for dissent. Barely had the game restarted and Knight lunged at a Norton player in an attempt to get the ball. The referee quite rightly reached for a second yellow card and thus New Mills were down to ten men.

Ironically, this seemed to calm the Derbyshire side down and from that moment on they totally dominated the game. Several chances came and went begging and there was no further scoring in the first half.

It took 60 minutes for the equaliser to come and it was Carlos Meakin who diverted a free kick into the corner of the Norton goal. The game kicked off and instantly a long ball was caught by Rhys Nevins who calmly turned inside the full back before poking the ball home.

There were chances coming thick and fast now for New Mills most notably there were two one-one-ones involving both Kharas and Zajac, but neither could convert.

In the end another excellent result for New Mills.

Saturday 15th December
Millers March On: Cheadle 1 - New Mills 3

New Mills opened up a seven-point advantage at the top of the Vodkat Second Division table on Saturday with a resilient performance at Park Road Stadium. The team was without Carlos Meakin and Anthony Bingham, but they still had enough firepower to secure the points.

This local derby had plenty of thrills and spills, as one would expect. The home side were straight into their opponents from the opening minute and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 15 minutes. Miller’s defender Mike Lomax appeared to slip and as he tried to clear the ball the referee adjudged that he had used his arm. The resulting penalty was despatched by McDonald despite an excellent attempt to save it by Williams.

This was just what the Millers needed ironically as they then began to put their own game together. Just five minutes after going behind they drew level when in-form striker Garry Kharas powerfully headed home an excellent corner kick.

The rest of the half belonged to the Millers who began to dominate. There was always the risk of their Stockport-based opponents causing problems when they broke, but the ball was mainly in the possession of New Mills.

There were some problems with the floodlights during the latter stages of the first half and this was noted by the huge travelling support. New Mills took the lead shortly after the resumption when Melford Knight opened his account with a poke in from short range – there was a possible shout for offside, but the referee ignored it.

Joe Shaw then had a goal disallowed before the lack of quality floodlighting caused the referee to bring the match to a halt. He made his decision known that if the problem could not be rectified in the next fifteen minutes then the game would be abandoned.

Fortunately Millers Chairman Ray Coverley is an electrician and he quickly nipped under the stand to assist. After a ten-minute delay the lights came back on with the full power necessary.

There were huge cheers when the game restarted as this was an opportunity for Tony Hancock’s side to press their advantage and this was taken within a few minutes when Knight rose majestically to head home an excellent Mark Lees free kick.

After this it was all New Mills and they missed several excellent chances. The home team began to lose their composure and two players were dismissed from the field of play for foul and abusive language directed at the referee.

And so New Mills will travel to Norton United on Saturday still unbeaten in league football this season and on Boxing Day they will be at home to Castleton Gabriels with a 3pm kick-off. In between they were due to play at Belper in the Derbyshire Senior Cup on Tuesday evening.

The Reserves will be at home on Saturday when they entertain Atherton. They drew 3-3 at Church Lane against Cheadle Town Reserves last weekend and it was a disappointing result in their quest for league honours. They play at Glossop North End on Tuesday in the Derbyshire Divisional Cup.

Saturday 15th December
New Mills Res 3 - Cheadle Res 3

If you hadn’t been at Church Lane today and heard that there had been 6 goals, goal-line clearances, good saves and the ball hitting the post at least 4 times you would have thought you had missed a cracking game. Wrong! The game between a strangely out of sorts New Mills Reserves and Cheadle Town Reserves who only managed to get 11 players on the field fifteen minutes after the scheduled 3.00pm kick off time was a torrid affair.

Second bottom Cheadle Town who haven’t managed a win all season, prevented Millers from taking all three points and going top of the table, by employing a tactic of route one football, lumping the ball towards the Millers area at every opportunity and creating panic, unfortunately it seemed to work, and New Mills couldn’t create the kind of fluid play that they have displayed for most of the season.

Millers could have fallen behind as early as the fifth minute when the referee decided to ignore the offside rule, and allow the Cheadle Number 10 a run at goal, but he hit a poor shot well wide. Two minutes later and Millers created their first chance when Chris Prodromis made a strong run down the right and pulled the ball back into the path of James Elmore who also hit his shot wide. Cheadle’s number 11 Ben Fallows blazed a shot over the bar from 10 yards out when it looked easier to score, and at the other end Adam Blackburn hooked a shot over his shoulder from the edge of the box, which was just high and wide.

Twenty minutes gone and Cheadle won a free kick just inside the Millers half. A long high ball was played into the penalty area, and under challenge, the Millers Keeper was unable to take full control of the ball, and the Cheadle number 9 headed the ball goalwards, despite a lunging clearance and claims of a foul on the goalkeeper, the referee deemed the ball had crossed the line for Cheadle Town to take the lead.

Four minutes later and Cheadle rode their luck when Billy Gallagher broke down the Millers left flank, cut inside and curled a cross into the six yard box which the Cheadle keeper dropped over his head, only for him to manage to turn round and collect the ball before it crossed the line. The ball was cleared upfield and Millers keeper Luke Smith made a smart save. From the resulting Cheadle corner the ball broke downfield to Matt Zajac who was returning from injury, and through one on one he curled a delightful shot round the Cheadle keeper, but hit the outside of the post. The Cheadle keeper got lucky again when he spilled a tame header onto his post and the ball bounced straight back into his arms, but he could do nothing on 36 minutes when James Elmore found some space in the Cheadle box, took a couple of touches round a defender and fired across goal and in at the far post for 1 – 1.

The last ten minutes of the first half saw Millers finally spring into life and play with some composure and quality. From a Billy Gallagher cross Adam Blackburn glanced a header across goal and away off the post, Chris Prodromis saw a looped header claimed under his bar by the Cheadle keeper, who then made a fine stop low at his near post to deny Matt Zajac just before the half-time whistle.

It was Cheadle’s turn to hit the post at the beginning of the second half when the ball rebounded into the Miller’s keeper’s arms. Five minutes into the half and Millers finally took the lead when a long clearance by Adam Brindle was collected by Adam Blackburn who took the ball past a defender and the Cheadle keeper to pass the ball into an empty net for 2 –1. No sooner had Cheadle kicked off and they were level, an attempted Millers clearance was sliced to the edge of their own penalty area only to find an unmarked Cheadle forward who easily fired home to make it 2 - 2. A quality ball from Millers substitute Joe Ingham on 63 minutes found Adam Blackburn just inside the Cheadle area, and as it looked as though he had lost control of the ball, but between him and an advancing Cheadle defender and goalkeeper, the ball managed to find its way into the back of the net for Millers to lead again 3 – 2.

A minute later and Cheadle could have been level again. Another long free kick into the Millers 6 yard box was met unchallenged by a Cheadle forward, but keeper Luke Smith made an excellent block at his near post to keep the ball out. The half carried on in mediocrity as neither side took control of the game, but Cheadle earned their point right on the 90th minute when a long clearance was collected on the Cheadle right wing, and a hopeful cross was fired into the Millers area, only to see the ball slice off Stephen Land’s foot and in past the Millers keeper at the near post for 3 – 3. Stewart Kay could have wrapped up the points in injury time, but through on goal he could only fire his shot straight at the Cheadle keeper.

So a poor game finished in stalemate, with Cheadle definitely the happier with their players celebrating an unexpected point as though they had won the league. Millers Reserves return to action this Tuesday night with a Derbyshire Cup Quarter Final away at local rivals Glossop, and return to Church Lane next Saturday for a league game against mid-table Atherton LR. Lets hope for a more positive team performance in both of these matches.

Millers Team:
Luke Smith (GK), Stephen Land (Cpt), Chris Sibson, Adam Brindle, Andy Street, Danny Hooper, James Elmore, Billy Gallagher, Adam Blackburn, Matt Zajac, Chris Prodromis. Subs: Chris Fidler (GK), Elliot Marshall (27 minutes for D. Hooper), Joe Ingham 53 minutes for A. Street), Stewart Kay (70 minutes for M. Zajac), Danny Carter.

Saturday 1st December
Cup Win: New Mills 2 - Norton 1

New Mills moved into the quarter finals of the Second Division Trophy on Saturday after knocking out Staffordshire side Norton United in a game which can only be described as an old fashioned cup-tie. The two goals for the home side were amongst the best that they will score all season – and they were certainly well received by the partisan crowd. The visitors made a real fist of the match and in the first half they created two excellent chances, both of which went just past the post, much to the relief of Stuart Williams the home custodian. The Millers went ahead on 32 minutes when Adam Mather blasted home from all of 25 yards. Garry Kharas had an effort ruled out shortly before the interval, for what reason nobody knows.

Anthony Bingham cuts between his opponents

Adam Mather

The second period was similar to the first with both sides looking dangerous when going forward. Norton were reduced to ten men when they had a player red carded for a bad challenge. New Mills soon took advantage of this when in-form striker Garry Kharas hit home a spectacular scissor kick strike on 70 minutes. This was a fine piece of individualism from the player who has now scored in 9 of his last eleven starts.

Almost immediately however, Norton pulled one back from Danny Hughes and the scene was set for a nail biting finale. At the end of the game New Mills deservedly went into the hat for the quarter finals where they will travel to either Bootle or Leek CSOB. This tie will not be played until February.

The game had plenty of excitement and both teams hit the other side’s woodwork. There could easily have been plenty more goals.

This Saturday it is back to league action for New Mills when they entertain Blackpool Mechanics. The Millers are currently four points clear at the top of the table and they have not yet lost this season in the league.

The team has also now scored a massive 61 goals so far in the league and cup, providing some wonderful entertainment along the way. In the next round of the Derbyshire Senior Cup they will face a difficult game when they travel to Unibond side Belper Town in two weeks time.

The Reserves had an excellent result when they won 4-3 at Oldham Town in the Reserves Division Cup courtesy of two goals apiece by Khan and Blackburn. The Reserves must also travel in the next round of the Derbyshire Divisional Cup when they face the short trip to rivals Glossop North End. This is undoubtedly the tie of the round.

Melford Knight gets brought down