TOP of their respective Warrington and District League table, Orford travelled to Bickerstaffe on Liverpool Cup duty on Saturday and narrowly missed out in a 2-1 defeat.

With seven first-team players missing, Orford maintained their good form against an experienced side.

After 15 minutes, Chris Lester gave away a penalty only for goalkeeper Taylor to get hand on it but the power on the strike took it into the net.

This spurred Orford to take the game to Bickerstaffe and skipper Moran netted from 25 yards with his left foot to make his tally three goals from four games.

With 10 minutes remaining, Orford’s hard work was undone as the home side scored with a glancing header from a free-kick.

Man-of-the-match went to Ross Maskell.

Orford: Taylor, Jones, Bonkers, Lester, Lawton; Wilson, Elder, Sharples, Moran, McGann, Maskell. Subs: Neary, Bacon.