By James Briscoe
Nantwich Town boss Danny Johnson said his side proved they can compete with the best in Evo-Stik Northern Premier League.
Johnson was speaking after a hard-earned point against a talented AFC Fylde.
Andy White deserved his Man of the Match award playing well in defence and attack for the Dabbers.
But Aaron Burns once again stole the spotlight with another brilliant lob to cancel out Michael Barnes’ earlier goal.
Nantwich looked confident after thrashing Stocksbridge 5-1 on Saturday and passed the ball well in the opening stages.
But Fylde tested the Dabbers defence with Lloyd and Matt Blinkhorn having shots blocked.
A great ball from Oliver Devenney released White on the left and his cross found Mark Jones who sliced wide on 13 minutes.
Blinkhorn had two bites at the cherry on 15 minutes but he could not connect well with a bicycle kick and the ball dribbled out for a goalkick.
Burns uncharacteristically failed to finish on 25 minutes when one-on-one with the Fylde goalkeeper after brilliant chest control.
White took on two Fylde defenders before unleashing on 30 minutes but his shot was blocked for a corner.
Lloyd missed a header when facing an open net on 34 minutes after Smith flapped at a Barnes cross. There were claims for a push on Lloyd.
Nantwich came out in the second half buoyed by their impressive first half and looked to pick up where they left off.
Jones looked determined to score and found himself in the Fylde area again but his shot was blocked leaving him ruing his luck on 46 minutes.
Burns was through on 48 minutes but the ball held up on a divot and then there were claims for a penalty and a red card against Luke Denson who seemed to bundle Burns over but the ref waved the protests away.
Just when it seemed Fylde’s strikeforce had already headed for the warmth of their beds, Lloyd enjoyed the break of the ball and fired over at the back stick on 53 minutes.
Then Barnes scored from a cross which evaded Smith on 61 minutes against the run of play.
Three minutes later came Burns’ brilliant lob with his ‘weak’ right foot, showing his cheeky chip against Stocksbridge was no fluke.
Johnson said afterwards: “We can take away that we can compete with the best team in the league, as far as I’m concerned they [AFC Fylde] are.
“I think we soaked up a bit of pressure and hit them on the counter but that was our game plan tonight, we’ve not gone to outplay them, we’ve gone to make sure we’re solid and make sure we stay behind the ball.
“The lads have listened and they’ve stuck to the game plan to a tee and we’ve got our just rewards.
“We’re disappointed with the goal we’ve conceded because we should defend that a little bit better and a great strike from Aaron again has got us a point but overall we’d have took a point from the game and we’ll try to go on an unbeaten run now, we’re really pleased.
“From our point of view I think we’re proving now we are going to be a competitive team in this league and the lads have just got to embrace what they did tonight, embrace what they did in the second half on Saturday and take it forward.”
Nantwich now look forward to Saturday’s FA Cup First Round Qualifying match against Rugby Town at the Weaver Stadium.
“It’s a nice break from the league in the best cup in the world and we’re looking forward to it,” added Johnson.
“Hopefully we can put on another good show in front of our home supporters and get ourselves to the next round but we won’t be taking Rugby for granted.”
Nantwich: Terry Smith, Alex Frost (c), Andy White, Oliver Devenney (Ross Davidson 79), Earl Davis, Russell Courtney, Adam Carden, Mark Jones, Aaron Burns (Ben Deegan 71), Harry Clayton (Max Harrop 90+2), Stephen Johnson. SUBS: Chris Amadi, Sam Wilson.
(All pictures courtesy of Simon J Newbury Photography)
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