SQUIRES GATE 2 AVRO 1: Victory sealed with nine men thanks to Nathan Cliffe double

Following two cup victories, Gate welcomed the fifth-placed Oldham side and Luke Evans made four changes, with Isaac Abankwah, Alex Welsh, Ryan Moore and Theo Ball starting.

Avro were first to put the ball in the net, though Gate keeper Nathan Pennington was clearly fouled, and it was the hosts who opened the scoring inside seven minutes.

Theo Ball held the ball up superbly before an excellent pass put Cliffe in behind and the striker finished clinically into the bottom corner.

The keeper was almost embarrassed on 21 minutes, when his clearance went straight to Dan Gray, who hit a post with an audacious lob from distance.

Evans' men deservedly doubled their lead on 40 minutes, when Moore's first-time pass released Cliffe and he rounded the keeper, tucking the ball away from a tight angle.

Left-back Harrison Webster cleared a header off the line as Gate kept the visitors at bay in the second half, though they put a good chance wide on 79 minutes.

Webster was first to receive his marching orders, after a second yellow card, and Avro had a goal disallowed for offside before Jordan Southworth tapped in Ethan Sutcliffe's cross on 89 minutes.

Substitute Prince Yelegon had been on the field only four minutes when he was sent off for kicking out, though Gate were good value for three points which lift them to 14th place.

This was Gate’s first league game since losing to high-flying Wythenshawe on October 8 and they are back in premier division action on Saturday at mid-table Irlam.

Gate's reward for last Saturday's FA Vase win over Cammell Laird 1907 will be a second-round trip to Huddersfield club Emley of the Northern Counties East Premier Division on November 12.

GATE: Pennington, Abankwah, H.Webster, Gray, Welsh, Westwood, Moore, C.Webster, Ball, Cliffe, Boyd; Subs: Bartram, Hughes, Chambers, Yilmaz, Yelegon