Stone Dominoes 1
Nantwich Town 1
League (NW Counties League Div 1)

Match Report

Stone and Nantwich shared the spoils in an entertaining derby game that delighted a sizeable crowd and was a great advert for North West Counties League football.
Having slumped to a disappointing defeat at home to Atherton LR on Saturday, the Dabbers showed guile and guts in a fast-moving game and were more than a match for their high-flying hosts.
Dominoes probably shaded the first half but it was Nantwich who went in to the break one goal to the good. Top scorer Wes Wilkinson was again on mark. On 32 minutes he latched on to a neat ball from Dale Melling and although his first touch took him wide of the goal Wilkinson swivelled to fire into the net from an acute angle with Doms’ keeper Rob Hackney wrong-footed.
Chances were at a premium at both ends but Simon Pay rescued the Dabbers just on half-time to deny Dave Walker who had been threaded through.
Walker, though, made amends just two minutes after the interval. The Nantwich defence was caught cold and the Doms’ front man capitalised to level the scores. The Dabbers battled back and had the edge in the second half. Two minutes after going behind, Wilkinson almost restored the lead but was just wide of the target after breaking through the Stone defence.
The Dabbers’ defence was able to blunt the threat normally posed by Dave Shaw but the former Congleton striker almost profited just after the hour mark but his free header was saved comfortably by Pay.
In the last minute, substitute Ashley Lawton’s flick header from Danny Griggs’ dangerous cross almost snatched victory for Nantwich but, in the final analysis, both sides deserved to take something out of a game that was a credit to both clubs.
Stone Hackney, Warrender, P Taylor, Lainton, Timms, A Taylor, Sumner, Brownsword, Shaw, Walker, Donnelly. Booked: Lainton (20mins), Walker (60mins)
Nantwich Pay, Hall, Melling (Thomasson,80), Gleghorn, Jardine, Vickers, Brookes, Knight, Thomas (Lawton,65), Wilkinson, Griggs. Booked: Wilkinson (30mins), Knight (40mins)

Match report written by Michael Chatwin