A Prestwich squad shorn to a bare eleven through injuries and absentees were made to pay dearly for their profligacy in the first half with their hosts taking advantage of an injury to veteran Paul Taylor rendering him a virtual pedestrian and Prestwich’s tiring legs to rattle in four goals in the last fifteen minutes.
Prestwich won the toss and elected to start with the strong wind behind them. With what has proved to be such a potent attacking trio of Tito Miguel, Sean Haslam and Mike Neary in their ranks Prestwich started to grow in the ascendency as the half progressed.
Whilst the wind was clearly presenting an advantage it was also causing problems as time and time again attempts by one of that trio or advancing midfielders Matty Brennan and Lewis Smith to thread someone in on goal were ruined by the ball being over hit and rolling off to the keeper or out of play.
Gradually Prestwich started to get the measure of the conditions and chances began to come, first a delightful move saw Haslam put Neary through with just the keeper to beat, the keeper appeared rooted and looked to be easily rounded for a tap in but Neary elected to try and thread it past him resulting in an easy block.
Then a move down the right saw Haslam cleverly switch play and pull the ball back across to the left hand edge of the box where Miguel had timed his run perfectly to find himself with time and space, only to rush his shot and scuff it completely.
Minutes later Miguel did much better to pick out Haslam who kept his composure to coolly chip it over the advancing keeper for 0-1.
With Prestwich now firmly in control soon after it should have been two when Haslam put Brennan in this time some ten yards out with just the keeper to beat, Brennan skewed his shot well wide of the left hand post and it remained 0-1 at the interval.
With the wind advantage the hosts set about Prestwich in determined style, but Prestwich were defending well and Keeper Mike Hudson was busier picking up over hit passes and crosses than actual shots on target.
Indeed after an initial flurry by Mancs Prestwich could and should have grabbed the all-important second goal which would have given Mancs a mountain to climb. First on 53 mins a typical fast passing counter attack saw Mike Neary do really well to get himself round the last man, he was desperately unlucky to see his lofted shot from the left hand edge of the box bend in toward the right hand post but just not quite enough .. the shot cannoning back out of the upright.
Then on 67 mins Smith embarked on a tremendous run down the left and cut back inside from the touchline to pull it back for Neary on the edge of the box, Neary jinked past his man to make the space for his shot which went just wide of the right hand post.
With the clock ticking by Prestwich’s eleven were starting tire and the hosts bolstered by attacking substitutions grabbed an equaliser on 75 mins following a scramble.
The situation was made worse when Taylor suffered an injury rendering him able only to pick up a role hobbling around as a lone front man. Mancs took full advantage of the situation to rattle in another three goals in the dying minutes to make it a despairing day for the Prestwich boys.
