Whaley Bridge kicked off their Cheshire League Division One campaign with a hard fought victory away at Knutsford.

On a flawless playing surface the two sides played out an entertaining 90 minutes which saw the visitors come out on top thanks to goals from Colin Moss, Bill Sutton and George Burgess.

There was added intrigued to this fixture as it pitted former Whaley captain Scott Dignan against his former club in his new role as Knutsford’s player/manager but the veteran was left disappointed as his side fell short on the opening day.

Whaley took the lead after just seven minutes when centre half, Moss guided Sutton’s corner into the net in a fashion befitting a seasoned centre forward.

The home side equalised just after the half hour mark following a quick counter attack which saw Robbie Robertson cut the ball back for the lively David Owens who beat James Tattersall from close range.

Just moments later Knutsford found themselves in the lead when confusion in the Whaley back line resulted in full-back James Gemmell heading Dignan’s driven delivery past Tattersall.

Having dominated for large parts of the first period, showing good energy and instances of neat passing, Whaley were determined not to be trailing at the break and excellent distribution from Tattersall allowed Sutton to burst into the box where he was brought down before dispatching the penalty to restore parity.

Manager John Brogden praised his side’s performance during the interval and implored his players to maintain their concentration and build on their good start.

The second half was a more cagy affair as both sides toiled in the heat; Kuntsford were restricted to long range efforts which failed to trouble Tattersall whilst tireless running from Jace Broome and George Burgess were a feature of the visitor’s play.

However, with just under twenty minutes to go, Jack Gregory released George Burgess with a sublime clipped pass allowing the striker to cut inside and unleash an unstoppable drive past the ‘keeper to earn all three points for his side.

Whaley host newly promoted Poynton on Wednesday night and will be sweating on the fitness of skipper Rob Newton who limped out of Saturday’s game with a dead leg.

The reserves kicked off their season with a 1-1 draw against Grappenhall Sports at Horwich Park, Tom Scorer with the goal.

Team

Tattersall, Whelan, Moss, Newton © (W Bailey), Gemmell, Sutton, Gregory, Broome, J Burgess, G Burgess, Christie (Brown)

Man of the Match: George Burgess