After an emphatic win at Hanley last week, Whitchurch Alport suffered an embarrassing home defeat to West Didsbury and Chorlton at the weekend.

The visitors arrived in Shropshire second from bottom in the league table but managed to complete the double over Alport with a comfortable 2-0 win.

It was only West’s third victory in the Premier Division this season and despite gaining three points at Yockings, they remain entrenched in a relegation battle.

It was another example of Alport failing to get their ‘A’ game together against a side that have been an easy opponent for a lot of teams.

Manager Luke Goddard admitted it was a bad day all round for his boys.

He said: “It was just one of those days where whatever could go wrong, went wrong and we ended up as miserable as the weather.

“We had a problem with the electrics in the lead up to the game with the system overloaded and we had blackouts all around the ground except for the floodlights. Intermittently, they would flicker back into life but five minutes before kick-off the team were sat in a pitch-black dressing room with little prospect it seemed of starting the game.

“We couldn’t do a team talk to a team we couldn’t see so the preparations were affected when the referee pressed his buzzer to signal the teams to enter the tunnel.”

The Reds gaffer insisted his side hadn’t gone into the game complacent. “We warned the players that West Didsbury would be a far more difficult game than the one at Hanley.

“Yes, they may be in the bottom two, but they have enough about them to dig themselves out of trouble as they will always be competitive.

“They adapted to the conditions much better than we did and when you’re chasing the game your task becomes nigh on impossible. Although we had more of the ball in the second 45 we barely troubled their goalkeeper and so yes, it was a big let down for us.”

Goddard paid tribute to the club’s supporters despite it being the lowest crowd at Yockings for 12 months.

He said: “A turnout of 105 on a day like Saturday was proof that this club is very much on the up.

“It was the second highest attendance in the Premier division on what was probably the coldest day of the year.

“Honestly, some of the lads came into the dressing room on full-time and they looked blue. It was a shame we couldn’t perform for the fans who had braved the elements and I apologise to them for that. It’s a sign of our inconsistencies that we can turn it on one week and then seemingly not turning up the next and one of our fans rightly voiced the same concerns to me in the clubhouse after the match.

“It’s hard to argue with that and we have built a squad here that should be better off than where we are in the table right now.”

Saturday’s game will feature the Whitchurch brass band and choir, and fans are encouraged to wear Christmas jumpers with the best one winning a cash prize. The match is kindly being sponsored by Tilstock Motors with kick off at 3pm.