Radcliffe Borough manager Paul Maguire has heaped praise on penalty hero Chris Cheetham after the young goalkeeper saved three spot kicks to set up a tie with Skelmersdale in the FA Cup First Round qualifiers.

With the scores tied at 1-1 after regular time, Radcliffe fell behind early in extra time but Richard Smith’s late header seven minutes from time sent the game to penalties.

After top-goalscorer Chris Mason missed the first spot kick, Cheetham stepped up to the plate ensuring a 3-2 shootout victory over Atherton Colliers.

“He did fantastic to make the saves.” He said.

“We were really confident that we could rely on him when it went to penalties as he is a good shot stopper and he gets down really well.”

Maguire was also pleased with the way his team fought an uphill battle after they were reduced to 10-men in extra time when Dave Sherlock was sent off.

“I cannot believe how he got sent off after only 40 seconds after coming on.

“It was only a 50/50 challenge and I felt there were worse tackles than that in the game, it was quite unbelievable.

“After the sending off I changed the system a little bit going three at the back and that probably worked in our favour as we then went on the front foot and Richard Smith popped up with the goal that sent it to pens.

“It was a real end-to-end game and it was full of excitement just what you would expect in the FA Cup.

“It was unbelievable to get through and credit to the lads they stuck at it all game and showed grit and determination.”

Games against Ossett Town and New Mills stand in the way of the next FA Cup tie, and Maguire admits it may be difficult to keep the team fresh with the busy schedule ahead.

“We only have a small squad so it will be difficult. We have Ryan Hibbert, James Mullineux and Danny White all out injured so our squad is really stretched at the moment.

“I have to try and keep the team fresh and vibrant so only time will tell if our squad can deal with the heavy fixture list.

“We probably do need a couple more players but finances are tight so we will have to continue with what we have got and try not to over train the players.

“Overall the players played well and we now look forward to playing Skelmersdale away in the next round who are in the division above us.

“We hope we can go there and be the team providing a bit of an upset and as we are confident we can beat anyone on our day.

“We are five games unbeaten now and are definitely looking forward to the next round and the players will certainly be up for it.”

l A supporters meeting will take place at the clubhouse on Wednesday at 8.30pm. All welcome.