Skelmersdale United 5
Nantwich Town 2
NW Counties League Cup (3rd Round)

Match Report

SKELMERSDALE UNITED 5 NANTWICH TOWN 2
NW Counties League Cup 3rd Rd - 29 January 2005

Goalace Stuart Rudd notched a match-winning hat-trick as Skelmersdale coasted to a comfortable victory after conceding an early goal. Rudd, who has fired 85 goals in the past two seasons, has missed most of this campaign following a hernia operation and, despite netting on his return to action in November, he had fired blanks in Skem’s last five games. Nantwich’s hopes that his barren spell might continue were thwarted by his might, muscle and movement that brought a deserved hat-trick and, with it, Skem’s safe passage into the Fourth Round of the North West Counties League Cup.
The ‘Westgate Interactive Stadium’ is proving something of a jinxed venue for the Dabbers. After inaugurating it with a comprehensive 4-0 defeat in September, the greens caved in, shipping three goals in 15 first half minutes as the rampant hosts responded to the Dabbers bright opening.
That opening brought a goal in the first minute when Danny Griggs’ cleverly executed free-kick caused panic in the box and when the ball bounced back off the post Neil O’Brien was on hand to nod home. Griggs then executed a stunning volley that was arrowing towards the top corner before being acrobatically palmed away by veteran keeper Robbie Holcroft.
Then came that devastating spell of Skem pressure. With Chris Morris injured and Matt Bradbury cup-tied, the reshuffled Nantwich defence just couldn’t cope with the directness of the Skem front line. On 12 minutes, Lee Thompson raced down the left and Michael Cole coolly slotted home his low cross to equalise. Then Rudd got in on the act, smashing home from close range after his initial attempt had been charged down and then making it 3-1 when Holcroft’s long goal-kick caught the Nantwich defence flat-footed enabling the Skem hitman to latch on to the ball and round Danny Read for his second.
In an end-to-end game there were chances a plenty for both sides. James Marsh’s header forced a finger-tip save from the backpedalling Read and Steve Hussey rattled the Nantwich bar with a thunderbolt long ranger whilst Griggs clipped the ball just over the Skem crossbar.
A minute after the interval, the tie was as good as settled when Lee Thompson made it 4-1. The lively Griggs has a shot saved by Holcroft as Nantwich tried to force a way back into the game and Matt Blake drove inches wide of the upright after Griggs’ free-kick found him on the edge of the box. Blake should have got on the scoresheet when Paul Rutter played him in but the youngster made amends on 72 minutes when he beat the offside cross and centred for Griggs to set up Rutter to lash the ball home for his 12th goal of the season.
The home side still looked dangerous and when Rudd rounded Read, it took a goalline clearance from Richard Pullar to keep Nantwich in the game. Substitute Will Allman could have set up an interesting finish but he blazed over the bar five minutes from time whilst, at the other end, Read pushed away an attempted lob by Rudd. The Skem striker was not to be denied, though, and as the game went into stoppage time, he beat Read to the ball and trickled it over the line for his hat-trick.
Ashley Lawton missed a last-ditch effort to give the score some respectability but Dabbers player-boss Steve Davis will be looking to shore things up at the back, having leaked nine goals in the last two outings.
Skelmersdale: Holcroft, Standley, Marsh, Brownrigg, Hallam (Mbemukenga,75), Cole (Dee,81), Hussey, Birchall, Rudd, Thompson (Hyland,81), Osman.
Nantwich: Read, Brough, O’Brien, Davis, Pullar, Santus, Newton (Lawton,h-t), Blackhurst, Rutter (Will Allman,77), Griggs, Blake.

PHOTO: Glynn Blackhurst rises highest at a Nantwich corner.

Match report written by Michael Chatwin