Stretford Paddock came from behind in thrilling fashion to defeat Clay Brow 2–1. A late penalty from captain Joao De Andrade capped off a spirited second-half fightback.
First Half
The visitors, who began the match three points behind Stretford Paddock, raced out of the blocks to take the lead in the sixth minute. They capitalised on a sliced clearance from Michael Olatunji, which presented their striker with a one-on-one against loanee goalkeeper Rhys Holmes. Brow’s forward showed composure, lobbing Holmes before nodding into an empty net to give the visitors an early advantage.
Paddock refused to dwell on the setback, and Sam Pratt almost struck back immediately, though his close-range attempt was comfortably gathered by the Brow goalkeeper.
The home side found it difficult to break through Brow’s compact defensive shape, despite the best efforts of midfield duo Joe Coleman and debutant Joe McGuinness to feed the front line. To bypass the Lancashire outfit’s congestion through the middle, manager Stephen Howson instructed his side to use the flanks to stretch the play, an approach that soon began to bear fruit.
Most of Paddock’s threat came down the right-hand side, where captain Joao De Andrade drove forward and delivered a low cross into the box, finding Pratt. The striker’s first-time strike, however, was safely claimed by Brow’s number one. Moments later, right-back Luke Morris whipped in another inviting delivery toward Pratt, but the ball flashed agonisingly beyond his outstretched leg.
On the brink of half-time, Paddock had one final opportunity when De Andrade surged through the middle, slipping a perfectly weighted pass into Pratt. His low effort from the right-hand channel was once again collected by the alert goalkeeper, ensuring Brow held their lead at the break.
Second Half
Paddock began the second half brightly, with De Andrade again at the centre of their attacking play. The lively forward picked out Pratt inside the area, but his shot on the half-turn flew over the bar.
Despite maintaining the long-ball approach, Paddock struggled to create clear-cut chances. A half chance fell for Pratt outside the box when stand-in full-back Zack Bell flicked on his header into the striker’s path, though his rushed attempt fizzed past the left post.
Centre-back Sam Walker then tried his luck from distance, but his long-range strike was comfortably held by the visiting keeper as Brow continued to defend resolutely.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 85th minute. Academy starlet Kiefer Cole stepped up and produced a moment of pure quality, curling a stunning free-kick from the edge of the box over the wall and into the top right corner, sailing beyond the goalkeeper’s reach to level the score.
Just two minutes later, Brow almost hit back when a long ball broke Paddock’s offside trap. Their attacker looked destined to score, yet Olatunji’s superb recovery pace prevented what could have been a decisive goal.
Then came the crucial moment deep into stoppage time. Substitute Claudio Costa finally found a way for Paddock to unlock Brow’s compact defence, threading a perfectly weighted through ball behind their back line. It released top goalscorer Pratt, who had been a constant menace throughout the match. As he tried to round the goalkeeper, the man between the sticks brought him down, leaving the referee with little choice but to point to the spot.
With the home crowd holding its breath, captain fantastic De Andrade showed ice-cold composure from 12 yards, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and slotting low into the bottom-right corner to complete a dramatic turnaround.
It was a performance built on resilience and belief as Paddock ended their losing streak in style. Howson’s men showed real character to fight back after falling behind early and were rewarded for their persistence with two moments of late brilliance.
The result sees Stretford Paddock sitting fifth in the table, now six points clear of Clay Brow, and back in contention for promotion heading into the second half of the season.
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