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Stretford Paddock have been out of league action for over a month now, after suffering a 3-1 defeat to title-chasing rivals De La Salle, dealing a massive blow to Paddock’s title aspirations. As things stand, Stretford Paddock are still top of the league with a one-point lead on De La Salle, who have a game in hand. With only six league games remaining for Howson’s men, there is no margin for error, as dropping points in a title race this tight at this stage could prove futile. There is already a sizeable disadvantage in goal difference, currently sitting at a staggering 15 goals, which could work as an extra point come the end of the season.

Paddock has tested themselves against Macclesfield Town and Lescott’s Mystery XI, a team consisting of Premier League Winner Chris Eagles. Without a doubt, they will be looking to take this experience against higher opposition and use it to go up a level in the remainder of their season as they return against an AFC Oldham side who are coming off a 9-1 defeat against De La Salle.

Paddock come in as huge favourites, coming up against a side that are rock bottom of the league and have only registered one win in the league all season. The reverse fixture ended 5-2 to Paddock earlier in the season in a performance far from their best, and Howson will be expecting his men to be a lot more emphatic this time around.

There are over 14 players unavailable for Paddock and will be without top scorer Josh Smith for the rest of the season, which will be a huge blow for the reds, the title run-in will undoubtedly be a test of resolve and the squads’ strength-in-depth and there may be an exciting return to the team on the weekend to soften the blow.

The game will be held at 3 pm at Nicholls Community Football Centre, Dalberg St, Manchester M12 6BN, where Stretford Paddock will start their final surge towards a possible championship season.

On a weekend where Stretford Paddock was scheduled to face Abacus Media, the opportunity for a top of the table clash came from Abacus calling the game off due to a supposed Covid breakout within their squad. Paddock was then heading for another weekend fixtureless and a possible hit to momentum but almost miraculously, with 24 hours to spare, De La Salle showed the wherewithal to take up the offer and opportunity to play Paddock on short notice. Setting up was very much dubbed an early title decider.

The situation going into the game was Paddock were eight points clear of De La Salle, with the Salford side having three games in hand; a victory for Paddock would have taken them 11 points clear, invariably putting one hand firmly on the title with only six games to go. So it was an opportunity for Paddock, but an opportunity missed.

In what was the biggest game of the season thus far, it was one of the more disappointing performances to date. Howson’s men struggled to get any foothold in the game as they lacked quality and composure in their build-up play, caught out time and time again with square passes and loose touches. De La Salle executed their game plan very well, staying compact and organised – picking their moments to pounce on Paddock mistakes with incisiveness and clinical finishing. They disrupted the rhythm of Howson’s men, causing them problems all day long. Leading to Howson giving credence to his previous criticisms during victories stating that, “Days like today are why I’m still hard on the lads when we win comfortably, but I see faults in performance because I know that against opposition with the quality of De La Salle, we could get punished and today we were.”

De La Salle eventually ran out 3-1 winners, with Paddock’s goal being nothing more than a consolation penalty from Tom Jones later in the game, which wasn’t enough to match the hat-trick from De La Salle’s number 9 who was a thorn in the side all day.

So as things stand, Paddock are now only five points clear of De La Salle, who have three games in hand. Therefore the title is very much in the hands of the team from Salford, but it’s not over yet. This weekend was a big blow to the title hopes, but a flawless finish to the season from Paddock, with a favour or two from other teams in the league, still give Paddock an outsiders shot. It’s a big few months ahead for this Paddock side.

Stretford Paddock went on their travels on the weekend and flexed their title-challenging muscles, dispatching a very tricky Milton side 6-1 on the weekend. This was the eighth league game in the row Stretford Paddock have come out victorious, as they are becoming an unstoppable force at this level.

Chris Singleton was sensational on the day with big saves in big moments and his distribution was sensational, apart from one error leading to a goal later in the game, he was practically flawless, being the fire starter for so many attacks; but once again the attacking trio of Josh Smith, Kieron Molloy and Tom Jones. Josh furthered his attempts at becoming league top scorer with another brace, a feat matched by fellow wing partner Kieron before Tom Jones got himself on the score sheet later on as he combined with Josh later in the game to slide the ball home from six yards out.

There was still a sense of disappointment as another clean sheet opportunity went awry, something that could prove costly come the end of the season, in a title race that could possibly come down to goal difference when it’s all said and done. Without sounding perfectionist, little intricacies like these are exactly the ones that Paddock are looking to eliminate from their game, as the club has aspirations of ascending up the football pyramid. Little kinks in the armour that could punish them in future, and Howson being as meticulous as he is, there’s little doubt that no stone will be left unturned in the training weeks to come.

This victory however took them eight points clear at the top of the league on 28 points, eight points clear of De La Salle Reds who still have three games in hand. However, De La Salle dropped points on the weekend after a 1-1 draw against Rochdalians on the weekend. As a result this now means that the title is now very much in Stretford Paddock’s hands where even if De La Salle wins out with their games in hand and go one point clear at the top, they will still have Paddock to play before the season ends, so destiny is very much now in Paddock’s hands.

A red-hot Stretford Paddock side travels to a Milton team with enough quality in their ranks to cause an upset; the Paddock boys will need to give this game their full attention as complacency could prove futile during a run-in where nothing but three points will do.

Milton have five losses and five wins in the ten league games they have played, making them very much a Jekyll and Hyde proposition. A side that gave Paddock several issues in the reverse fixture when Paddock ran out 4-3 winners, an end to end game that ebbed and flowed, and we can expect more of the same in tomorrows fixture.

It was no secret how disappointed Howson was in the performance last week, and speaking in the week in preparation for the game, he said, ‘I wasn’t at all happy with the performance last weekend, we are miles better than we showed, and I expect an increased level of performance this time around.’ This suggests Paddock anticipate a much sterner test and will be wary of dropping points as they continue to mount the pressure on De La Salle Reds to make the most of their games in hand.

The urge for silverware is an insatiable one in the Paddock camp, a feeling that has resonated during a winning streak in the league that now extends to eight games and this weekend should be no different. As the visitors will be looking to take all three points and continue to pile the pressure on De La Salle. Josh Smith coming off a brace last week, now has 11 goals in the league, ranking him second place in the goal-scoring rankings, six goals behind the leader Jack Ward of Moston Brook. There’s quite a gap, but with the form Josh is in, the type of form where it wouldn’t be surprising if he bridges the gap by the end of the season as he undoubtedly will be looking to continue his goal-scoring exploits on the weekend.

The match will be held at Heywood Sports Village, Starkey Street, Heywood OL10 4TW; kick-off will be the standard time at 2 pm.

Stretford Paddock continued their winning streak in the league after defeating Salford Victoria 4-1 on the weekend, overcoming a tricky and awkward opponent, and taking Paddock six points clear at the top of the league. De La Salle Reds do however have 3 games in hand.

Although the scoreline was comfortable and emphatic, Howson was far from impressed and wasn’t shy in displaying his disappointment, voicing after the game that ‘the performance was unrecognisable’ and he believes performances like that will not win Paddock the league come the end of the season.

One of the positives to take from the game was the emergence of Joao De Andrade who now has 3 goals in 2 starts and has looked a breath of fresh air out wide, cooly slotting the ball past the keeper after an assured first touch out of the air. Things got better as the all-time appearance leader Will Hobson headed home from a set-piece as he continues to build on his ever-growing Stretford Paddock legacy. However, once again, the star of the show who is arguably the star of the season so far, Josh Smith bagged himself a brace, taking him two goals clear of Jay Phillips to become the outright all-time leading goal scorer for Stretford Paddock.

What has much-maligned Stretford Paddock is the lapses in concentration defensively and the lack of consistency with clean sheets, an issue that reared its ugly head again as a Hobson mistake resulted in Salford Victoria punishing the hosts in the latter stages of the game.

With no margin for error in this two-horse title race, those are mistakes Paddock will be looking to cut out of their game so that it doesn’t bite them in important games. But in the end, all that mattered was the win and three point’s and every game is something for the team to build on in their hunt for league glory.

Stretford Paddock FC once again go into another match-week at the top of the table as they currently sit three points clear of De La Salle Reds who have two games in hand.

Coming off a 6-1 demolition of North Walkden last weekend, buoyed by what is now seven games in the league unbeaten, Paddock will be looking to keep up the pace in what is looking like a two-horse race for the league title. In the form Paddock are in, if they continue to win games, at the very least they will be keeping the pressure on a De La Salle team who will know that games in hand are only useful if you win them.

Looking at the opposition, Salford Victoria are lying third from bottom but they appear to be quite an enigmatic team which makes them a very difficult proposition. They have only played six games in the league all season and have only won one of the games, which is a far cry from the force they were last season but when they lose this season, more often than not, it’s a very tight game. They are also coming off a narrow 3-2 loss against De La Salle Reds last weekend, a game in which they were level at halftime. It’s clear that Salford Victoria do pose a threat and will require Paddock’s full attention if they want to maintain their advantage at the top of the table.

Howson spoke during the week stating that: “Salford Victoria look to be a decent side, one much better than their record suggests so we have to make sure we’re ready, we can’t afford to drop points”. A mentality that Howson’s men will undoubtedly be getting drilled into them during the training week, as they will look to extend their winning streak in the league and build on what is looking to be an extremely promising season.

The match will once again be held at Nicholls Community Football Centre, Dalberg St, Manchester M12 6BN. We expect a decent turnout as the support at Paddock continues to grow as the team continues to build and grow.

An injury-ridden Paddock team went into the game hungry to get back to winning ways, desperate to respond after narrowly bowing out of the cup last weekend.

Attention then turned to not slip up in the league against a North Walkden side that had picked up a bit of form going into the game, and the end result was emphatic and again went a long way to prove Paddock’s title credentials.

Josh Smith had been on record watch for a few weeks now and with the form he had shown this season, it was only a matter of when rather than if, when it came to becoming Paddock’s all-time leading goal scorer, he came into game level with Jay Phillips on nine and it only took him 13 minutes to break it, as he guided a well-worked pull back into the roof of the net to open the scoring.

Jay Phillips however was a huge talking point in the game as in the very same game his record what broken he made his unexpected return to club and squad, coming on in the second half of the game late and rocketing in a goal of the season contender on his comeback to draw back level with Josh Smith for the goal-scoring record.

There was also the first start for left winger Joao De Andrade who bagged himself a brace on his first start putting in a strong performance in his own right but arguably the star of the day was Omar Sinclair who dazzled all day with his skills, pace and trickery.

Stretford Paddock now go 3 points clear at the top of the league but De La Salle Reds do have two games in hand so we’ll have to keep a watchful eye on how they fair in their coming games as Stretford Paddock look primed and ready to capitalise on any slip-ups made by the early pace setters; but all in all it was a comfortable victory and another example of the imperious force the team is becoming at this level of football.