Another below par performance saw AFC Liverpool suffer their heaviest league defeat as Stone Dominoes ran out 4-0 winners.

It was a performance that was in complete contrast to the committed effort that brought the win over Runcorn Linnets on Wednesday evening and the hosts took the points, not because they were overwhelmingly superior but because the Reds simply didn’t do enough to deserve to take anything from the game.

They started brightly enough, comfortably knocking the ball around but without much penetration. It was down the right flank where they created their best chances with Liam Nethercote firstly outmuscling Gareth Mayer to square for Muktar Mahama but the Reds’ striker lost his footing with his back to goal and could only scoop his effort goalward before it was hooked away. Then it was Mahama’s burst down the right that almost broke the deadlock when his cross came off Mayer before clipping the post and then Joe Bennett cut in from the flank to lay the ball of to Nevil Picton but he fired wide from the edge of the box.

Stone Dominoes, with just the one upfront, threatened little, with just a tame shot from Ashley Miller dragging Denis Barlow in the action, until the forty third minute when Michael Marren put his side a goal up. The Reds’ defence allowed Stone too much possession around their box for too long and they were punished when Ashley Hill’s delicately chipped ball in behind Aaron Carey found Marren and he knocked it past Barlow.

The game was still their for the taking though and had the Reds fully applied themselves, they could have taken control but only Steve Corris, running onto Bennett’s through ball forced David Dyson into a save.

Stone doubled their lead on sixty minutes when a break down the right saw Wayne Teague’s shot cum cross float over Barlow into the far corner.

Two chances in quick succession soon after could have brought the Reds back into it but Mahama, racing onto a poor back header from Matthew Bradbury didn’t have enough conviction to knock the ball past Dyson and then James Buckley, again profiting from confusion between the Stone centre backs, did put his attempt past the keeper but not getting enough on the ball allowed Matthew Lowndes to get back and clear off the line.

Any chance of a comeback was effectively ended on seventy minutes when Stone were allowed to work the ball forward without being closed down enough resulting in Miller cutting inside Callum Tai-Hogan before firing low under Barlow.

Nethercote could have restored a little respectability to the scoreline, latching onto Buckley’s through ball but though his shot squeezed through the legs of Dyson, the keeper’s intervention took the pace of the ball allowing Lowndes to clear off the line for the second time in the match.

The hosts still had time to add one more when the Reds’ defence, static and looking for an offside flag, allowed Steven Allen to escape their attention and he nodded home Shane Reaney’s delivery from ten yards with not a soul around him.

Stone Dominoes 4-0 AFC Liverpool
Marren 43′
Teague 60′
Miller 70′
Allen 88′

Attendance: 63

Photo courtesy of Dave Williams.