Above, pictures by Bob Shaw and Barry Betts

At the end of every month we like to offer recognition to the Heswall player whose performances have stood out.

April featured some outstanding contributions from a number of players, but there was one who shone particularly brightly with nine goals.

After some sterling performances for our Reserves team, goal machine Jason Bull stepped up to first team duties and continued his rich goal scoring form. The 24 year old has been red hot since football restarted and will be hoping to finish the season with more goals to help our teams to success.

In our Junior sides, Joe Willis from our U14 Saturday team was the winner after performances exemplified by great attitude, energy, work rate, and a few goals. He's a very good young player who enjoys his football and is a credit to his team and his family.

Both awards are sponsored by Katalyst Creative, a Wirral based Web Design, E- Commerce and Digital Marketing company with a client centred approach to the needs of the business. A huge thank you to the Katalyst team for supporting Heswall FC.

This weekend was not a positive one for our senior teams as both the First Team and Reserves suffered defeat.

In the Haworth & Gallagher Bowl, our Firsts faced Mossley Hill Reserves at Gayton Park, where a subdued performance from our lads put us two goals down with a late Matty Holt header being no more than a consolation.

After winning the competition last season, it's a blow to relinquish the trophy but we need to be back to form on Monday night when we face Vauxhall's Reserves at The Syncreon Arena in the Wirral District FA Senior Cup Quarter final. A place in the semi final against Neston Nomads awaits the winners.

Our Reserve Team travelled to local rivals West Kirby in the league knowing promotion was now beyond both sides. Manager Nathan Brooks handed debuts to two Youth Team players in Ben Muirhead and Dylan McColgan, adding to Youth Team keeper Finn Collins, giving the team a youthful feel and displaying the ethos at the club where young players are given opportunities to develop into adult football.

A spirited performance marred by some defensive frailty resulted in a 3–0 defeat, but the chance to bring in young players made it a positive day despite the result.

Credit to our opponents for a good victory - West Kirby is a well run and established club with a fine history. Despite the on field rivalry, we are keen for clubs across the Wirral to thrive and be successful. Pathways for young players are vital to football in the borough, and we are forever determined to open them up.

The Reserve Team travels to Levers tomorrow night to face Chester & Wirral League side St Saviours in the Wirral District FA Amateur Cup Semi Final. The lads have a great opportunity to book a place in the final, but The Savs are a strong side and will be pushing for success themselves.

As the easing of coronavirus restrictions reaches the next step tomorrow, we would like to offer an open invitation to everyone to visit Gayton Park before the end of the season.

Our next games at Gayton Park are on Saturday 22nd May. Our Youth Team faces Litherland Remyca at 10:30am in their final match of the season, and the last game for this group of players at youth level.

They will be challenging for places in the adult teams next season, and it's been a great honour for us to play a part in their development and their football stories.

We would like to offer our sincere thanks to Youth Team Manager Robbie Davies who has managed the team from their beginnings in Under 6 mini soccer - a remarkable achievement. Robbie should never underestimate the importance of his role in the way these players have grown up and developed into young men. He has been a great role model and deserves great respect for his work.

The 22nd also pits our First Team against Rainhill Town at Gayton Park- kick off at 3pm. The game is vital in our quest for promotion and Manager Andy Cass will be determined to take the points.

Prior to the league games, we are hosting a Charity Match at Gayton Park on Wednesday the 19th in aid of Bowel Cancer Awareness as #TeamDDB faces the UTS Foundation. Kick-off is at 6.45pm and organiser Danny De Brabander explains why the game is taking place.

"Having been battling terminal cancer for the past two and a half years, I wanted to turn my negative situation into a positive. So in May 2019 we played the inaugural Bowel Cancer Awareness game at Prenton Park and the event was a huge success raising nearly £10,000 for local charities who support cancer patients on the Wirral.

"This year not only is the event back but live football too. Please come down and support us on Wednesday the 19th. The bar is open from 5.30pm and hopefully the sun will be shining. The most important thing is you will be helping raise money for a great local charity, and help raise vital awareness of bowel cancer in the process.

"We appreciate the support of Robbie, Heswall FC and the community of Heswall for letting us put this event on.

"For more information about my fundraising charity #TeamDDB we are on social media (Instagram & Facebook), and to date we have raised over £52,000 for the local community!"

As a club Heswall FC is delighted to be able to support Danny and his incredible work. His efforts and those of Team DDB are humbling and inspiring and we wish him well in all his efforts and we urge everyone to support an amazing cause.