Northwich Victoria 1
Nantwich Town 2
FA Cup (2nd Round Qualifying)

Match Report

Northwich Victoria 1 – 2 Nantwich Town
The FA Cup with Budweiser 2nd Round Qualifying
Attendance: 542
Rearguard action provided Nantwich with a memorable victory at neighbours Northwich Victoria in the The FA Cup with Budweiser.
Goals from Mat Bailey and Sean Cooke gave the Dabbers a 2-1 win and £4,500 prize money.
Vics started the brighter in a scrappy first half, Wayne Riley’s free-kick was headed at goal by Michael Clarke but Jonathan Brain was able to collect comfortably.
Nantwich’s best chance of the half came after 24 minutes when Michael Lennon broke down the right and provided a pin point cross for Marco Adaggio but the winger couldn’t make contact.
Northwich came closest when Clarke powerfully headed Ryan Wade’s cross towards the top left hand corner but Brain managed to push the ball onto the crossbar.
The visitors could have scored on the stroke of half-time as Matthew Lowe’s throw in was chested down well by Adaggio and his turning volley was smartly saved by Ben Hinchliffe in the Vics goal.
After half-time Northwich threatened to take the lead once again, Wade latched on to Steve Abbott’s flick on but he blasted over.
The breakthrough came against the run of play for the Dabbers; Cooke’s free-kick was thundered home by Mat Bailey inside the Vics penalty area.
That goal gave Nantwich some much needed momentum and leading scorer Ben Mills’introduction could have brought about a second goal; he got the ball on the halfway line and his mazy run and 20 yard shot went just wide.
Northwich had no clear cut chances to equalise but Wade blasted over Kyle Armstrong’s long ball, having got in behind Lowe.
The Dabbers made it 2-0 on 85 minutes as Lennon again broke down the right hand side, he cut back to Cooke, and the ex-Crewe man skilfully turned Dominic Collins before slotting into Hinchliffe’s bottom left hand corner.
Two minutes later substitute Mills nearly made it three with an acrobatic volley but Hinchliffe was able to hold on.
Vics, to their credit, never gave up and Nathan Woolfe’s thunderous strike was fantastically saved by Brain.
Their persistence was rewarded on the 89th minute as Wade took the ball round Brain but was brought down by the ex-Macclesfield man, leaving referee Mark Powell with no choice but to point to the spot.
Armstrong stepped up and sent Brain the wrong way to set up a tense period of injury-time.
Nantwich’s 18 yard area hosted the remaining two minutes of injury-time and when the ball fell to Armstrong on the edge of the box, the Vics captain hit a sweet right footed shot which looked destined for the top corner only for a world class save from Brain.
The Dabbers held on and progress to the Third Qualifying Round making it six wins in six.
DABBERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Jonathan Brain (An outstanding performance from a brilliant goalkeeper, the last line of defence is so important when the side is against the kosh; three world class saves to note.)
Nantwich Town: Brain, Lowe, Solovjovs, Maguire, M.Bailey, Moss, Cooke, Flynn ©, Adaggio (Mills, 58), Lennon (Jack, 86), McLachlan. Subs not used: Prince, Nicholls, Jones, Worrall
Northwich Victoria: Hinchliffe, Law (N.Woolfe, 84), Short, Collins, Roddy (Ennis, 66), Armstrong, Riley, Abbott, Clarke (Evans, 66), Wade, Field. Subs not used: Fitzpatrick, R.Evans, Sumner, Morrison.

Referee: Mark Powell
Assistants: Neil Kellett & Ian Smellie

PHOTO: Mat Bailey tussles with Vics' Wayne Riley.

Match report written by Ashley Houghton