Squires Gate 0
Nantwich Town 6
League (NW Counties League Div 1)

Match Report

NANTWICH: Rob Hackney. Murray McCulloch. Paul Taylor. Paul Donnelly. Mark Fitton. Phil Parkinson. Ishmail Reade. Stuart Scheuber. Andy Kinsey. Andy Bott. Danny Griggs.
Substitutes; Mathew Platt. Adam Beasley. Lawrence Briggs.
Goals: Andy Kinsey (13) Andy Bott (17) Stuart Scheuber (26) Danny Griggs (Pen 69) (89) Mathew Platt (77)

`The Dabbers` took early control of this match winning a first minute left sided corner from which
defender Mark Fitton was just wide from close range at the opposite post. A four man midfield move
orchestrated by Stuart Scheuber was continued through Bott,Kinsey and finally `Dabbers` midfield
captain Phil Parkinson, who let fly from 25 yards, only to witness his effort sail wide of the right hand
post. A fifth minute free kick, awarded after Griggs was fouled on the left edge of the area, was taken by
Kinsey, whose initial strike hit the defensive wall but, his second from the rebound was well off target.
Midfielder Ishmail Reade followed a minute later with a superbly delivered crossfield ball from left to
right which found the bustling Kinsey with pinpoint accuracy,the resultant 20 yard strike agonizingly
striking the foot of the right hand post for a goal kick.Nantwich crafted a goal in the 13th minute when
a left sided corner delivered by Griggs skimmed off the head of Kinsey.From the clearance, the ball
fell to the unmarked Fitton stationary on the left of the area, who followed up with a delivery to the
back post, before ‘keeper Ellard spilled the ball into the path of the lurking Kinsey, tapping in from
3 yards.With a quarter hour played Nantwich were in command, with their hosts only twice breaking into
`The Dabbers` half.Domination secured Nantwich their 4th corner of the half, leading to a second goal in
the 17th minute.Danny Griggs took the left sided flag kick, the ball helped on across the 6 yard box
by Scheuber but, despite Ellard reaching for the ball, Bott reacted first to nudge it over the line.A
barrage of Nantwich attacks followed, leaving the opposition struggling to clear their lines. However,
Squires Gate finally broke out, moving into the Nantwich half in the 24th minute, creating a couple of
promising moves that led to a Lee Catlow header,followed shortly afterwards by a weak close range shot
by the same player that was easily taken by the almost redundant Rob Hackney. Two minutes later,
Nantwich added a 3rd goal. Having pushed Squires Gate well back on to the defensive, a clearance
found the bustling Scheuber 25 yards out, who followed with a sweet right footed volley into the
back of the net. The busy midfielder was in action again moments later, delivering an angled cross from
left to right that forced Ellard to climb high at his post to prevent the ball entering the top corner of the
net.In contrast, the home side forced a rare break on 33 minutes, winning a 22 yard free kick that found
the feet of striker Reattif, but his finish was well wide of goal. Four minutes from the break, Nantwich
won a left sided free kick, right on the edge of the area, leaving Andy Bott to head over the ‘keeper at the
far post but,an assistants flag was raised, and the goal ruled offside. Paul Taylor required lengthy
treatment for an injury to his right ankle but was able to resume moments before the half time whistle.The
second half resumed in a similar pattern to the first period but, Squires Gate looked a little more
determined and Ryan was able to test Hackney with a 25 yard strike in the 48th minute with the Nantwich
‘keeper called into action on several occasions shortly afterwards. The industrious Ishmail Reade made
way for Mathew Platt on 67 minutes with Danny Griggs switching to the left whilst Platt, took up station
on the opposite flank.Two minutes later, Nantwich added a 4th goal.Scheuber,en route for goal, was
scythed down just inside the area, providing Griggs with a spot kick that he firmly planted past
Ellard.Lawrence Briggs replaced Paul Taylor at left back in the 75th minute and at this point the
domination of the game by Nantwich was bordering on embarrasment.Goal No.5 for `The Dabbers`
arrived in the 77th minute after Platt had switched to the left, picking up on a neat through ball by
Briggs,Platt jinxing on the edge of the area, teasing Ellard off his line, before deftly chipping in
from 12 yards to score his second goal in consecutive games.Briggs pace, when forced to track back in
the 82nd minute, spared Nantwich blushes after Ryan broke free to initially run unchallenged from just
inside the visitors half.The substitute left back effected the cleanest of challenges before sweeping in arc
fashion to set up yet another Nantwich raid on the almost hapless home side.A minute from normal time
the rout was complete.McCulloch broke down the right side before bringing Platt into play 20
yards from goal.The former Crewe player then followed with a chip into the 12 yard box, leaving
Andy Kinsey to shoot from close range followed by Andy Bott, with both shots rebounding off the
‘keeper before the lurking Danny Griggs cut the ball behind Ellard from an acute angle into the
bottom right hand corner of the net.
Nantwich Head Coach Steve Davis reflected after the game; “ Emphatic.The domination was
embarrassing at times.I asked the lads at half time not to sit back and their response was magnificent.A
tremendous performance”.
Nantwich remain 3rd in the NWCL 1st division table 8 points adrift of leaders FC United with a game in
hand.

Match report written by Phil Johnson