Clitheroe fully deserved their win against table topping Bootle, although it took fully 20 minutes for them to slip into gear. In that period, Bootle had taken the lead, after a back pass to forget from Richie Baker was intercepted, Domaine Rouse had earned a yellow card as he stopped a dangerous attack, Hakan Burton had called but not fully come for a bouncing ball and the shot had spun agonisingly wide of the post, and Rouse had headed a goal bound shot away.
Finally, the Blues started to assert themselves. On 27 minutes, the returning Sefton Gonzales burst down the pitch, before he laid the ball to Luke Gill, whose shot flashed across the face of the goal. Veron Parny then had a great run down the right but his cross just evaded Gonzales before minutes later Matty Clarke received the ball from Parny and forced a good save. On 37 minutes, Lenni Cirino was fouled on the edge of the box, and from the Baker free kick, Mark Hughes nodded the ball back into the box, for Charlie Hayes-Green to score his third goal in four days. As half time approached, Cirino was clattered in the box and Baker expertly slotted the penalty home.
Barely had the second half restarted than the lead was increased as Parny picked up a loose ball and composed himself before placing his shot into the corner of the goal. Gonzales then added a fourth as he sprang the defence and arched the ball into the top corner. Rouse then received a second yellow for a blocking tackle, but the 10 men of Clitheroe were in no mood to let up and after a stunning threaded pass through five players by Emerich Poilly, Gonzales rounded the keeper for his second and his century of goals in the blue of Clitheroe. Bootle toiled to make their extra man tell, and even though they scored two late consolation goals, the three points comfortably remained at Shawbridge.
TEAM: 1 Hakan Burton, 2 Matthew Clarke, 3 Lenni Cirino, 4 Domaine Rouse, 5 Mark Hughes, 6 Richard Baker (C), 7 Emerich Poilly, 8 Luke Gill, 9 Sefton Gonzales, 10 Veron Parny, 11 Charlie Hayes-Green. SUBS USED: 12 Sean McConville, 14 Connor High, 15 Ross Dent, 16 Jake Connelly, 17 Louis Potts. Not Used.