Winnington Park 1 City of Manchester 3

WINNINGTON Park could not stop runaway leaders City of Manchester at Moss Farm on Saturday.

The table-toppers’ win was not without controversy; early on Mike Dodd was sent sprawling by the visitors’ keeper when about to shoot, but he was not penalised.

Manchester then opened the scoring with their first meaningful attack.

A break down the left led to panic in Park’s circle, and a striker volleyed in from close range.

Winnington almost replied immediately when Paul Stackhouse sent Dodd clear, only for the striker to slot narrowly wide after tempting the net-minder from his line.

The hosts’ luck was in for the equaliser, however, when a drilled cross from Pete Evans was turned into his own goal by a Manchester back-marker.

Park surged forward, and were denied the lead before the break when the visiting stopper parried Daniel Hilton's deflected effort.

The visitors made sure of maintaining their perfect record after the interval, taking the lead from a penalty corner before sealing the points with a late third.

Winnington seconds recorded a fifth straight win, this time beating Timperley thirds 3-0.