Cheshire Independent Issue 218

SEPTEMBER 2026 20 Independent LOCAL SPORT LOCAL CRICKET ROUND-UP MACCLESFIELD FC have secured the services of midfielder Matthew Apter following his depar- ture from Cardiff City. The 20-year-old joins John Rooney’s side after he departed the now-Champi- onship side over the summer. Apter is a creative mid- fielder who loves to cover ground across the middle of the park and will be a great asset to the Silkmen’s mid- field ranks. Apter originally burst onto the scene at Everton, where he made over 30 appearances for the Toffees U18s in the U18 Premier League. He began to impress at the club, and was quickly put in the U21s setup, where he featured on a number of occasions in the Premier League Two. Apter would then make the switch to South Wales as he signed for Cardiff City’s U21s. He was highly regarded by the Club, and would feature for the First Team starting their EFL Trophy game against Arsenal U21s. The young midfielder has a lot of potential still to give and we are excited to see what he can do in a Maccles- field shirt. BOLLINGTON are cele- brating after winning the Cheshire County Cricket League Division One championship to earn promotion to the elite Premier Division for the first time in the club’s 141- year history. Bol l ing t on secured their place at the top table with a comfortable seven wicket home win over rele- gated Alvanley. Alvanley were shot out for just 89 with Harri Dickinson almost unplayable with fig- ures of 6-26. Fittingly, skipper Richard Hough eased his side home with an unbeaten 39. The title race in the Pre- mier Division is still up for grabs as the season enters its final week. At the top Nantwich are six points clear of Cheadle after a two wicket win over Brooklands. Batting first, Brooklands made a useful 230 (Scott Wardley 4-32) but the leaders edged home by reaching 231/8 with 3.5 overs to spare. Ali Chughtai made 44 and Rob Jones 57. Cheadle had an 81-run win at Lindow who were dis- missed for 106 in reply to the visitor’s 187 all out. One-time leaders Didsbury ended a run of three succes- sive defeats by beating Alder- ley Edge by seven wickets. Alderley Edge were all out for 213 as Didsbury got home by seven wickets to stay in third place in the table. Elsewhere in the top divi- sion, there was a four wicket win for Chester Broughton Hall over second bottom Bramhall. Opener Ashley West made 32 as Bramhall were all out for 160. Andrew McFarlane’s 66 helped Broughton Hall reach 164/6. Zach Thompson was left stranded on 99 as Timperley beat Neston by one wicket. Martiz hit 95 as Neston posted 252/7 with Timperley getting home on 253/9. Back in Division One, Widnes are also promoted despite a six wicket defeat at Bowdon. Widnes were bowled out for 242 but thanks to Ashwin Sharma (95) and Joe Chapple (66no) saw Bowdon home on 245/4. Ned Bailey smashed 94 in Stockport Georgians big 135-run victory at Marple. Bailey’s knock helped Geor- gians to a total of 238/9. Mar- ple were shot out for 103 with Amin taking 3-11. Macclesfield had a three wicket win over Port Sunlight who were dismissed for 147. Matthew Fielding top scored with 38 and James Longhorn (32) and Alex Thomson (32no) sawMacclesfield reach 149/7. In Division Two Romiley beat relegated Ashley by 48 runs and Cheadle Hulme beat Tattenhall by 15 runs. In Div ision Three Winnington Park beat Bred- bury St Mary’s by one wicket. Bredbury posted 113/4 and even though Winnington lost nine wickets they squeaked home on 114/9. Cheshire Cricket League Division One leaders Stock- port Trinity thumped Wood- ford by 10 wickets in a low-scoring clash. Woodford were all out for a paltry 21 in 17 overs with Tom Atkin- son doing most of the damage with 8-11. Lymm Oughtrington Park had a healthy 104-run win over Bowdon Vale. Lymm made 194/9 but Bowdon Vale could onlymanage 90 in reply. Barnton defeated North- wich by 49 runs. Barnton were 151 all out but North- wich were all out for 101. In Division Two Apple- ton beat Prestbury by 101 runs; Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge had a three- wicket success over Chester County Officers and table toppers Holmes Chapel beat Offerton by 35 runs. Wins- ford conceded their match against Cholmondley. In North Staffs and Chesh- ire South Division One, Big- nall End beat Congleton by six wickets. Sandbach, second bot- tom in Division Two, were beaten by 101 runs by New- castle and Hartshill. Chasing 216/7, Sandbach were all out for 115. MANAGER John Rooney hailed a “proper per- formance” as his Silk- men side went top of the Enterprise National League North with a 3-0 victory over Hebburn Town at the Leasing. com Stadium. Adan George’s double, his first goals in Macc colours, put the Silkmen in com- mand before Danny Elliott’s stunning half-volley in sec- ond-half added time rounded off the perfect Bank Holiday weekend double-header, with Rooney’s men hitting the summit of the sixth-tier fol- lowing an unbeaten start to the season. Rooney said: “We always BOLLINGTON ARE ON THE UP AND UP SANDBACH teenager, Isla Boardman, has won her first national athlet- ics medal after claiming silver in the U16 Heptathlon at the England Athletics National Championships. The 15-year-old produced a superb performance across the seven-event competi- tion, finishing with a score of 4,487 points. This total puts Isla, a student at Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College, a total which currently puts her top of the UK rankings for the international U16 age cat- egory in the Heptathlon by over 200 points. The Heptathlon tests ath- letes across seven disciplines: 80m hurdles, long jump, jave- lin, 150m, high jump, shot put and 600m. Isla’s individual perfor- mances were: 80m hurdles: 12.39s; Long jump: 5.18m; Javelin: 33.71m; 150m: 19.34s; High jump: 1.50m; Shot put: 9.64m; 600m: 1:50.04. Her performance was particularly impressive given that she was competing against older athletes, with Isla ultimately finishing just a handful of points away from the goldmedal. Despite the narrow margin, she was beaten by a worthy winner and can be hugely proud of becoming a national medallist for the first time. The medal caps an impres- sive season for the young Sandbach athlete. Earlier this year, Isla qualified for both the English Schools National Championships and the English Schools National Combined Events Championships, giving her valuable experience compet- ing on the national stage. Her season isn’t over yet, either. On 19th and 20th September,Islawillonceagain represent Cheshire Schools at the national schools com- bined events championships, competing in the U17 age category despite being one of the youngest athletes in the competition. Sandbach’s Isla Boardman claiming silver in the U16 Heptathlon at the England Athletics National Championships (Image: Supplied) Teenager wins national medal Matthew Apter (Image : Maccles!eld FC) Apter joins Silkmen John Rooney hails ‘proper performance’ (Image: Maccles!eld FC) ROONEY HAILS MACC Silkmen hit top of table they’ve done everything we asked of them and they got the rewards by getting three points and three goals. “I thought we defended really well. Hebburn are no pushovers, they have come into the league above and have great momentum from last season after getting promoted, the manager has done a brilliant job so it was one of those games to not let them come here with their momentum and take points off us, that was the key message to the lads, forget Saturday, we’re ready to go again, and they went out and showed me that.” knew it was going to be a difficult day. To take maxi- mum points from it is always pleasing. To score three goals, for Adan to get off the mark for us, and Danny Elliott to come on and score again, it’s always pleasing seeing your strikers find the back of the net. Every one of them to a man, the way they defended, including Tom Wilson playing with a gash on his face. “It was a proper perfor- mance. We can still get bet- ter, but a lot of new players are still gelling together, and the start we have made has been incredible, and as I said to the players, we need to keep rolling into game- by-game like we did last year, but don’t take our eyes off it and keep turning out results. I thought the way they grafted for each other,