Nantwich Town recovered from a goal down to bag two in five minutes for victory over Cheshire rivals Warrington, writes Ryan Batty.
The win was even more impressive as the Dabbers were down to ten men in the second half after substitute Sam Wakefield was sent off.
Nantwich had the first real chance after ten minutes when a Courtney Wildin cross found Harry Clayton, but the forward’s header was unable to trouble Luke Pilling.
A minute later, the visitors could have taken the lead when a cross flew into the area, and Jack Higgins’ header smacked off the crossbar.
After 18 minutes, a cross into the area could have found Liam Goulding, but the Warrington skipper was just too late to arrive.
Then on the half hour, the visitors were awarded a penalty when Jamie McDonald was brought down in the box.
Sean Williams struck it low to beat goalkeeper Myles Boney, despite the on-loan Blackpool man guessing the right way.
Nantwich could have had a swift reply when Sean Cooke’s cross found Toby Mullarkey, but the midfielder couldn’t finish it off.
But the game turned on its head in the space of a few minutes before the break.
Steve Jones’ drove into the box, before laying it off to Mullarkey who fired past Pilling into the back of the net for the leveller.
Just six minutes later, Nantwich took the lead.
Jones was fouled in the area and the referee had no choice but to point to the spot.
Clayton fired it down the middle, while Pilling went to his right.
Wakefield replaced Cooke at half-time, and soon after the break Joe Mwasile almost sent Wakefield clear but his cross-field switch was unable to find the ex-Middlewich striker.
Jones carried his excellent form into the second half, and a beauty of a pass found Wakefield but he couldn’t steer his shot past Pilling.
With 20 minutes to go, Nantwich made their second change, as Mwasile was replaced by Kallam Boyle, a youngster making his first appearance in a green shirt.
The visitors could have equalised when Devarn Green found space and curled one that almost found the left-hand corner but went just wide.
On 80 minutes, Wakefield was penalised for a heavy collision with Warrington skipper Goulding and he was shown a straight red.
Warrington should have had a red card of their own five minutes later when Jones was hauled down on the edge of the box, but the referee rejected the protests.
Despite four minutes of added time, the Dabbers held on to secure three valuable points.
Nantwich make the return trip to Warrington in midweek for the second act of a Cheshire derby double-header at Cantilever Park. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Nantwich: Boney, Morgan, Wildin, Bourne, McDonald, Mullarkey, Mwasile (Boyle 70′), Hughes (C), Clayton, Cooke (Wakefield 45′, Off 82′), Jones (Cole 90+2′)
Subs not used: Cope, Griggs
(Pics courtesy of Mark Welton)
Recent Comments