HINDSFORD go into the Finnair Manchester League Division One top of the table clash at Breightmet United tomorrow full of confidence after last weekend's cracking away win in the Lancashire FA Amateur Challenge Shield.

Patience became as much the name of the game as football for the club in sealing a place in round three of one of the North West's premier competitions.

For three consecutive weekends the away tie at Lancaster side Slyne with Hest was postponed. When it finally went ahead last Saturday the home team took an early one goal lead. Manager Pete Barry and his young Squires Lane team have enough faith in their own ability not to panic and their slick inter-passing football brought a splendid equaliser for Nick Molyneux before the interval.

Simon Hampson was brought down for Chris Jolley to make it 2-1 from the penalty spot but the Lancaster team levelled with a quarter of an hour remaining.

The Hindsford lads stuck to their game plan and one of the best moves of the game saw Jolley set up Matt Toone for a decisive finish into the bottom corner.

Centre back Paul Thorpe, the former Pennington player, got the man of the match vote. "We played some really decent stuff on a very heavy pitch," enthused Barry. "They were a physical outfit and we had to show our battling qualities."

Hindsford will now have home advantage in round three against the winners of the Wigan SMR v Cambridge tie, which hopefully will go ahead this weekend.

The return to league action and the Breightmet game presents yet another major test for Barry and his side. Their Bolton opponents currently head the table with Hindsford in fourth place four points adrift but with a game in hand.

The clash has added attraction as the two teams, both containing players rated as the most exciting young prospects around, have been regularly attracting rave notices this season for the quality of the football they produce.

As those two clash another local side will have great interest in the eventual outcome.

Currently sandwiched between the two in second place two points behind Breightmet from one game less played sit Leigh Athletic.

Tomorrow manager Andy Pickles, who earlier in this debut season in the Manchester League stated he wanted to go into December in the top two in the table, and his team entertain next to bottom side Ashton Athletic. The possibility exists that the Madeley Park team boss could not only see his wish fulfilled but if Hindsford enjoy good fortune on the day, his side could even be heading the listing with Christmas fast approaching.

Rheumatic fingers from having them tightly crossed for over a month is becoming a major injury worry for players and officials at Atherton Town. Tomorrow will be the fifth consecutive weekend that preparations have been made to play the LFA Amateur Challenge Shield tie at West Lancs League Premier Division aside Blackrod Town.

This competition takes priority over all else so if ties are postponed they are automatically rescheduled for the following weekend. A situation now exists for Town whereby their round two tie is still to be staged a week after some teams have already played round three matches.

In the meantime the Howe Bridge outfit sees league fixtures beginning to form a quite formidable backlog. Again the Lancashire FA instruction for competitors is to the effect that if the Blackrod pitch is deemed unplayable the tie will be switched to Town's ground and that ruling will again apply tomorrow.

Provisional arrangements have been put in place that the tie could be played at the old British Aerospace ground at Lostock but, as with all things football at the moment, it all depends on the weather! Should Town beat Blackrod they have been drawn with home advantage in the last 32 to play Barrow Celtic.

On the Manchester League front tomorrow Pennington have a home Premier Division game against fellow strugglers Monton Amateurs.

Last Saturday Leigh Athletic Reserves beat Hindsford Reserves 4-2 to move clear at the top of Division Three. Latics' scorers were Rick Scott (2), Neil Sumner and an own goal with Mark Crowther and Matt Lilley on the mark for the Hindsford second-stringers.