Glossop North End 0
Nantwich Town 1
League (NW Counties League Div 1)

Match Report

Date: 13th January.2006.

Teams: Glossop North End 0 v NANTWICH TOWN 1
Andy Bott. 23 minutes.

NANTWICH: Rob Hackney. Mark Fitton. Gyorgy Kiss. Danny Smith. Paul Taylor. Phil Parkinson © Adam Beasley. Stuart Scheuber. Andy Kinsey. Andy Bott. Danny Griggs. Substitutes: Matt Blake. Paul Donnelly.Richard Smith.

`The Dabbers` were at full strength and with no injuries in the camp were eager to continue their winning start to 2007 by completing the double over Glossop North End.The Surrey Street pitch was in very poor condition with gusts of high winds and driving rain affecting visibility not helped at the start of the second half by only six of the eight floodlights in working order.We began in spirited fashion and as early as the 8th minute `Botty` was a shade unlucky with a close range header just wide of the left hand post.For the home side, striker Lee Evans broke from just inside our left half of the pitch in the 10th minute to make a run on goal but,his touch let him down 15 yards out before Rob Hackney sprinted from his line to smother the ball.Meanwhile,at the other end,a Paul Taylor (Taz) free kick fell just wide of the target from 22 yards out after the strong wind bent the ball across the face of goal.Shortly after`Botty` and `Kins` were unlucky as they tried to dig the ball out from under a Glossop defenders feet 10 yards from goal.`Botty` finally dug the ball out before it struck another defender and through to goalkeeper Williams.The home side won a free kick in the 20th minute,22 yards from goal on our right hand side.Glossop right back Young elected to take the kick which certainly tested the agility of `Akkers`who to his credit did well to save the powerful shot on his line. `The Dabbers`deservedly took the lead in the 23rd minute through Andy Bott to score his 17th goal of the season.Andy Kinsey and Adam Beasley combined well from just outside the area with `Bease` braking into the box before threading the ball between the Glossop central defenders but, just as the hard working midfielder was about to pull the trigger,`Botty` seized on the loose ball to drive it past Williams.Referee Mr M.G O`Neill continually frustrated both sides with some dubious decisions that regularly interrupted play.Just after the half hour Hamilton managed to forage a run deep on our left side before the midfielder delivered a cross that met the head of Hazelden at the far post but, the close range effort fell wide.`The Dabbers` went on to dictate the remainder of the half without creating any further clear cut chances,that was until the 43rd minute when `Dabbers` captain Phil Parkinson (Parky) tested Williams from deep with a shot that the `keeper` did well to block at the foot of his right hand post.

Visibility worsened at the start of the second half and when the call for the lights was heeded they did little to lift the gloom that was spread all around the pitch with two of the floodlights on the main stand side not working.Undeterred,`The Dabbers` immediately sought a second goal and, within a minute of the restart, right back Danny Smith delivered a perfect cross from deep to meet the head of `Botty` whose effort was unluckily held by Williams from a mere 8 yards from goal.Play gradually declined into a scrappy affair with neither side really threatening.`Kins` might have done better from an excellent Stuart Scheuber (Scheubs) free kick from just outside the area,our 20 goal leading scorer unfortunately miscuing his 14 yard shot wide of the target.Twenty minutes from normal time Steve Davis elected to freshen things up by introducing the pacy Matt Blake (Blakey) at the expense of `Scheubs` whilst the impressive Danny Smith,after making his first start since signing from Leek Town less than a month ago, made way for central defender Richard Smith.Two minutes later,and with the home side desperate for an equalizer,midfielder Gorton let fly with a distant shot that `Akkers` did well to save right on his line.However,with a quarter hour of normal time remaining,the home side were placed on the back foot during a spell in which `Blakey` and `Griggsy` twice had close range shots blocked by a ragged looking defence whilst at the other end,a rare Glossop move ended when Hamiltons 25 yard volley was well stopped by the alert Rob Hackney.Steve brought on Paul Donnelly in the 79th minute for the hard working but, tiring `Bease` who had earlier sustained a heavy knock to his left ankle.The lighting was so poor that at times it was difficult to see who was actually in possession of the ball.With less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining play descended into a very scrappy affair but,credit to Glossop,they worked for the equalizer although the resilience of `The Dabbers`,and in particular our defence, ensured the home side were kept at bay.Ironically,within a minute of the final whistle the missing floodlights lit up,perhaps in recognition of `The Dabbers` well earned victory under the most testing of conditions!Going into this afternoons home fixture against our visitors Colne we are currently undefeated at the start of 2007 with wins in our last two games.With the Boxing Day 6-2 win over Stone Dominoes included in the recent good run of results `The Dabbers` have won their last three games in which they have scored 11 times and conceded on just two occasions to reclaim 3rd place in the NWCL 1st division before today.Well done lads!

A delighted, but relieved Steve Davis commented after the game: “ Those were hard points to have won under the most testing of conditions.It wasn`t the prettiest of games from a spectator point of view but, I would have denied anyone to play much better on a very poor pitch to say the least.The lads stuck to the task and worked well to win against a hard working Glossop.Everyone is aware that we will have to dig in and be brave in the 16 games to come in order to maintain our promotion push which at the moment I am pleased to say, is on target.”

Match report written by Phil Johnson