UPTON AA missed the chance to rise up the West Cheshire League Division One table as they were beaten 4-1 at Rainhill Town.

Josh Clayton had put the visitors ahead early on, but two goals apiece from Paul Hynes and Stephen Melville saw the hosts hit back to claim their fourth win of the season.

The result leaves Upton in tenth place, albeit with games in hand on all but one of the teams above them, while Rainhill Town have moved ahead of them and into ninth.

A disappointed Upton AA boss, Todd Reid, said after the game: “We let ourselves down with our own mistakes in the end.

“We took an early lead and controlled the game up until the last five minutes of the first half when we conceded a penalty and a sloppy back pass gave them a lead at the break.

“Then we missed a penalty of our own, hit the post, and missed at least a dozen chances while they had four chances and scored them all. But, that’s football.

“The penalty was a big turning point because it got them back into the game at a time when we were looking for a decisive second goal which could have led to us getting four or five.

“We’ve had a good start to the season overall, only losing three games in all competitions so far, but we’ve ended it on a bad result which is frustrating for us.”

Elsewhere in Division One of the West Cheshire League, Chester Nomads saw their clash with Ellesmere Port Town postponed as only two other games in the league took place.

Ashville recorded a 2-0 victory at home to Redgate Rovers, while Vauxhall Motors Reserves returned to league action with a thumping 6-0 home success against Neston Nomads.

Meanwhile, in Division Three, Chester Nomads Reserves picked up a crucial three points against fellow strugglers Heswall Reserves in just their fourth win of the season.

George Stockton and Ryan Wan both bagged braces while another strike from Jamie Edge completed a 5-0 victory to move the Nomads Reserves up to 13th, five points clear of Heswall.

In the Cheshire Football League, meanwhile, both Blacon Youth Club and Newton Athletic will return to action on Saturday after neither side played on the weekend.

Blacon YC will host Crewe in a mouth-watering Premier Division Challenge Cup match, while Division Two’s fourth placed Newton Athletic will go to top of the table Winnington Avenue in a league fixture.