A last gasp winner by Liam Shotton earned Nantwich Town another valuable three points at home to Stourbridge, writes Liam Roe.
The victory leaves the Dabbers in third place in Evo-Stik Premier League – just two points behind joint leaders Darlington and Blyth Spartans.
Shotton came off the bench at the Weaver Stadium to break a frustrating deadlock as defences were on top last night (October 27).
It leaves Nantwich unbeaten in six, with Shotton’s winner in the second minute of additional time.
The first notable chance of a non-eventful opening 15 minutes fell to Nantwich and Matty Kosylo.
Jon Moran won the ball and gave it to Josh Hancock, who dispatched it to Kosylo in the box. The Dabbers joint top scorer couldn’t get the ball under his control as Daniel Scarr came across to clear it.
The game picked up on the 20-minute mark as Steve Jones held up the ball well and gifted it to Elliot Osborne, who found room, and put in a cross before it was cleared for a corner.
From the corner, Christopher Lait was called upon to keep the game level as he cleared Nantwich’s effort off the line.
The Dabbers were beginning to build momentum and Jones was at the heart of another attack three minutes later.
He beat Brian Smikle on the right, ran the ball down the line and whipped in a cross but it was just out of Kosylo’s reach.
With just under half an hour gone Stourbridge had a chance to take the lead through Matt Dodd – who found space in the Nantwich box and unleashed a fierce shot.
The ball looked to be heading into the back of the net but Mat Bailey was there to clear.
Nantwich had time to squeeze in one more chance before the referee blew for half time, as Jones saw his curled shot saved by Lewis Solly, but the teams went in level at the interval.
The opening quarter of an hour of the second half set the tone for the rest of the game.
The two sides played at a furious pace but much like the first half neither team could carve out a clear-cut chance to take the lead.
With three quarters of the game gone, Osborne brought down Sam Hall’s diagonal pass with an exquisite touch – he composed himself and fired a shot goalwards but it went wide.
Seeking a winner, neither team were holding back and both teams had their moments as the ball travelled from end to end.
Drew Canavan had a chance for Stourbridge as Thomas Tonk’s long throw in found its way to the substitute just inside the box, but he snatched at the shot and was unable to keep it down.
At the other end of the pitch, Kosylo clipped the post with a cross-shot.
Two minutes into additional time, the Dabbers grabbed an unexpected winner as Osborne hit the ball long into the Stourbridge box.
Substitute Shotton timed his jump perfectly and headed the ball calmly into the back of the net as most of the 257 supporters rose to their feet.
The drama didn’t stop there, as deeper into additional time Darren Thornton cleared the ball off the line to secure the points.
Nantwich Town: Burzynski, Moran, White, Harrison, Bailey, Osborne, Jones, Hall (c), Hancock, Bell, Kosylo. Substitutes – C.Smith (on for Bell), T.Smith, Shotton (on for Hancock), Thornton (on for Harrison), Gordon.
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