Player And Goalkeeper Of The Month Awards - January 2016
Mon 8th February 2016 | League Awards | By Ian Templeman
PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARDS
PREMIER DIVISION - NATHAN BATTERSBY OF ATHERTON COLLIERIES
Nathan played in three of the four games Colls played in January, missing out on the ill fated and ultimately unsuccessful trip to Newton Aycliffe in the FA Vase because of work commitments.
He played in the three league triumphs against Ashton Athletic, Congleton Town and Cammell Laird 1907 and he had real influence in all three games.
In the Ashton Athletic home game he played in the unaccustomed role of centre midfield and he took to the role like a duck to water, no pun intended given the wet conditions on the day.
On a barely playable pitch, Colls won a close encounter by a goal to nil with Nathan putting in a polished performance in the engine room, so much so that the Athletic camp awarded him their man of the match award.
At Congleton Town, he started in midfield but moved to left back in the first half. With Colls trailing and time running out, he somehow found his way into the Town box to nod a pinpoint cross past the oncoming keeper.
Colls were then reduced to 10 men but didn't settle for a point. In the 93rd minute, Nathan charged into the opposition half again to deftly set up Dave Sherlock for the winner.
Against Cammell Laird 1907, he played right back and was again in good form. His pass to Mark Battersby to score the second goal in the 3-1 victory was class.
Nathan can play in most positions on the pitch, but to term him a utility player would not do him justice. He is a quality performer and definitely an asset to the club, and thoroughly deserves the club's nomination for Player of the Month.
DIVISION ONE - COLIN McDONALD OF LITHERLAND REMYCA
In the three games played in January, Colin, the Remy skipper, scored four goals and had a hand in almost every other goal scored during the month.
Away to Stockport Town and 2-0 down at half time, Colin showed why he is club captain with a great display of leadership on the field, first setting up Jake Connor to get Remy back in the game and then scoring the equaliser with a great header at the back post in typical old fashioned centre forward style to gain the team a point on the day.
Next up, in a game away to Cheadle Town, Colin had a hand in all four goals, scoring two and assisting in the others in a 4-2 win.
He set up Colin Quirk for the opener after a neat one two on the edge of the box, then scored the the second goal 40 seconds into the second half with another far post header into the bottom corner.
Colin then knocked a header down for Wade Muscart to score the third before wrapping the game up when put through and scoring in the bottom corner.
In the third game of the month at home to Barnton, at 1-0 down Colin put John Hastings through on goal, who was brought down for a penalty which Colin Quirk scored. Then, with Remy 2-1 down, McDonald finished a great move with a shot into the top corner, to give Remy a share of the points against the league leaders.
Colin leads from the front both on and off the pitch and is currently the club's top scorer, as well having numerous assists too. A great month for the skipper.
GOALKEEPER OF THE MONTH AWARDS
PREMIER DIVISION - DEAN PORTER OF RUNCORN LINNETS
Dean in all four of Linnets games during the month, and only conceded one league goal in the three league games played, although in between, Linnets lost 5-1 to high flying Evo-Stik North favourites Northwich Victoria, although Dean was not to blame in any way for that defeat, as the goals were more to do with defensive lapses.
After a solid performance against Winsford at the start of the month, including an important penalty save leading up to half time, Dean produced another solid performance against Cammell Laird 1907 in an impressive 3-0 away win, and followed this up in difficult windy conditions with another clean sheet against a stubborn Nelson side.
With just two goals conceded in the last seven league games, Dean has been an integral part of the Linnets success this season, underlined by the fact that this award is his second in succession, having also won the nomination in December.
DIVISION ONE - MATTHEW HODGE OF ST HELENS TOWN
Matthew has continued his impressive start to life at St Helens Town, keeping two clean sheets in January, the club's first since September, conceded just one goal in three matches.
He again proved his worth to Town with some excellent saves at vital times in the games he played, the best example of this being his fine penalty save in the 3-0 win at Eccleshall. He recovered from the disappointment of conceding a penalty to dust himself down, pick correctly and push the spot kick away from danger.
Since taking over as Town number one in October, he has improved his communications with the backline which is looking more settled now than earlier in the season, and everyone at the club is hoping that Matthew's continued good form coupled with a more settled team can help Town mount an assault on the Division One play off places.
Player And Goalkeeper Of The Month Awards - January 2016
Mon 8th February 2016 | League Awards
By Ian Templeman
PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARDS
PREMIER DIVISION - NATHAN BATTERSBY OF ATHERTON COLLIERIES
Nathan played in three of the four games Colls played in January, missing out on the ill fated and ultimately unsuccessful trip to Newton Aycliffe in the FA Vase because of work commitments.
He played in the three league triumphs against Ashton Athletic, Congleton Town and Cammell Laird 1907 and he had real influence in all three games.
In the Ashton Athletic home game he played in the unaccustomed role of centre midfield and he took to the role like a duck to water, no pun intended given the wet conditions on the day.
On a barely playable pitch, Colls won a close encounter by a goal to nil with Nathan putting in a polished performance in the engine room, so much so that the Athletic camp awarded him their man of the match award.
At Congleton Town, he started in midfield but moved to left back in the first half. With Colls trailing and time running out, he somehow found his way into the Town box to nod a pinpoint cross past the oncoming keeper.
Colls were then reduced to 10 men but didn't settle for a point. In the 93rd minute, Nathan charged into the opposition half again to deftly set up Dave Sherlock for the winner.
Against Cammell Laird 1907, he played right back and was again in good form. His pass to Mark Battersby to score the second goal in the 3-1 victory was class.
Nathan can play in most positions on the pitch, but to term him a utility player would not do him justice. He is a quality performer and definitely an asset to the club, and thoroughly deserves the club's nomination for Player of the Month.
DIVISION ONE - COLIN McDONALD OF LITHERLAND REMYCA
In the three games played in January, Colin, the Remy skipper, scored four goals and had a hand in almost every other goal scored during the month.
Away to Stockport Town and 2-0 down at half time, Colin showed why he is club captain with a great display of leadership on the field, first setting up Jake Connor to get Remy back in the game and then scoring the equaliser with a great header at the back post in typical old fashioned centre forward style to gain the team a point on the day.
Next up, in a game away to Cheadle Town, Colin had a hand in all four goals, scoring two and assisting in the others in a 4-2 win.
He set up Colin Quirk for the opener after a neat one two on the edge of the box, then scored the the second goal 40 seconds into the second half with another far post header into the bottom corner.
Colin then knocked a header down for Wade Muscart to score the third before wrapping the game up when put through and scoring in the bottom corner.
In the third game of the month at home to Barnton, at 1-0 down Colin put John Hastings through on goal, who was brought down for a penalty which Colin Quirk scored. Then, with Remy 2-1 down, McDonald finished a great move with a shot into the top corner, to give Remy a share of the points against the league leaders.
Colin leads from the front both on and off the pitch and is currently the club's top scorer, as well having numerous assists too. A great month for the skipper.
GOALKEEPER OF THE MONTH AWARDS
PREMIER DIVISION - DEAN PORTER OF RUNCORN LINNETS
Dean in all four of Linnets games during the month, and only conceded one league goal in the three league games played, although in between, Linnets lost 5-1 to high flying Evo-Stik North favourites Northwich Victoria, although Dean was not to blame in any way for that defeat, as the goals were more to do with defensive lapses.
After a solid performance against Winsford at the start of the month, including an important penalty save leading up to half time, Dean produced another solid performance against Cammell Laird 1907 in an impressive 3-0 away win, and followed this up in difficult windy conditions with another clean sheet against a stubborn Nelson side.
With just two goals conceded in the last seven league games, Dean has been an integral part of the Linnets success this season, underlined by the fact that this award is his second in succession, having also won the nomination in December.
DIVISION ONE - MATTHEW HODGE OF ST HELENS TOWN
Matthew has continued his impressive start to life at St Helens Town, keeping two clean sheets in January, the club's first since September, conceded just one goal in three matches.
He again proved his worth to Town with some excellent saves at vital times in the games he played, the best example of this being his fine penalty save in the 3-0 win at Eccleshall. He recovered from the disappointment of conceding a penalty to dust himself down, pick correctly and push the spot kick away from danger.
Since taking over as Town number one in October, he has improved his communications with the backline which is looking more settled now than earlier in the season, and everyone at the club is hoping that Matthew's continued good form coupled with a more settled team can help Town mount an assault on the Division One play off places.
