Unbeaten New Mills aim to bounce back

The Millers remain unbeaten in the league and are level on points with leaders West Didsbury & Chorlton.

They face a local derby against Maine Road on Saturday at Church Lane and joint-manager Dave Birch is relishing the prospect.

He said: “The games with the sides in and around Manchester are always a bit more intense and have more needle as lots of the players know each other and there’s that bit more rivalry.

"Maine Road are near the bottom but have a new manager in place and he’s brought some new faces in, so we can't look at their league position as any kind of guide.”

The same could be said of Isle of Man, who have played all of their games away from home so far this season due to travel restrictions and who Birch was impressed with on Tuesday night.

He said: “I actually thought they played really well and I think they’ll be up there once they’ve been able to play some home games. They’re another side whose league position doesn't really tell the whole story given how they’ve had to play their games away from home up to now.

"We were without top scorer Joe Bevan again on Tuesday but Rick Tindall came in and scored twice which was great as he’s struggled wit injuries since arriving in the summer and has had to be patient.”

Saturday’s FA Vase exit to AFC Liverpool, who play a division higher, wasn’t helped by the concession of two early goals and then the sending off of goalkeeper Dylan Forth on the half-hour which not only led to the third Liverpool goal, but also the introduction of young defender Adam Muir between the sticks.

Birch said: “The two early goals killed us really but the red card was harsh as the foul began outside the area and the lad fell into the area, so we thought if it was a penalty then the red card wouldn’t follow under the new rules.

"But it was given and we don’t have the luxury of a sub keeper so young Adam had to play in goal for the first time in his life.

"We did well at times and created some good chances but the early goals and then the penalty were crucial in the end.”