Stretford Paddock  progress to the next round of the Rhodes Cup, but they did make hard work of it, only being able to settle the tie in the dying embers of the game, something that has become a force of habit for Howson’s men this year. The playing conditions were far from ideal as it was touch and go, whether the game was even going to go ahead, the combination of rain and wind made conditions an absolute nightmare, and it showed during the game. Paddock struggled to find any real patterns of play and playing rhythm. The conditions were a massive equaliser in what was anticipated as being a comfortable game for the visitors. However, in what was an unconvincing performance, Paddock did scrape through with a 3-2 win and will be eager to put the performance behind them and be satisfied with the result.

Howson did reiterate, “The conditions were awful, and we did have to adjust from how we usually play, but we do have to up our performance level if we are going to achieve what we want to achieve by the end of the season.”

In what was a scrappy and disjointed game throughout and it took a couple of moments of brilliance to get Paddock over the line. The deadlock was broken in what should already be locked up as the goal of the season, with a 40-yard screamer from Bouba Jenkins, a goal that was later almost matched in the game by Mikey Burke, who cut inside from the left and lashed home a superb strike into the top corner. Two instances of class in a game that largely lacked quality as the hosts soaked up the pressure and were able to break clinically on two occasions to score their goals. Paddock would score the winner in the end through Bouba Jenkins, who scrambled home a cushioned header from Paul Arrowsmith to complete his brace and send Paddock through into the next round of the cup.

A performance that will need to improve as Stretford Paddock takes on Polonia next week as they look to secure league glory.