Silsden 0 Congleton Town 3

Silsden returned to action after a fortnight but their poor run continued with a defeat.

The free flowing football that brought a run of five straight victories at the start of the year has dried up and the Cobbydalers have now taken just one point from the last nine.

They had chances to take the lead against mid-table Congleton but the visitors weathered Silsden’s bright opening and netted either side of the 30-minute mark. The home side almost went in front very early when a defender sliced Craig Nicholl’s third minute corner on to a post.

Chris Wademan broke through but the Bears’ keeper was quickly off his line to deal with the situation and Robert Grimes later shot over. Holes began to appear in the home defence and George Whiteoak found space to drill in the opener and three minutes later Lee Jackson ended a superb move with a composed finish.

Congleton’s Aaron Kirk could have made it three but Grimes had a chance to halve the deficit, however, his shot lacked both power and accuracy. Four minutes from time Scott McGowan slotted home to put the gloss on the Bears’ win.