By Liam Price
Nantwich Town ended their long run without a win and longer run without an away win with a remarkable 8-2 victory over City of Liverpool at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes.
Alex Panter came in for Byron Harrison and Kai Evans returned from suspension in place of Matty Tweedley for the Dabbers’ 2 changes from the draw with Runcorn.
It was a quiet first 10 minutes but once the chances started to flow they never really stopped.
Panter headed over the bar from a James Melhado cross before Alex Northover glanced well wide for the Purps at the other end.
Joe Bunney could have scored direct from a corner as it curved towards the far post but a City of Liverpool defender headed away; the referee’s subsequent award of a goal kick perplexing many.
Kofi Moore should really have given Nantwich the lead as he was granted far too much space in the box but Conor Robson was able to save with his foot from what was a rushed finish.
It was then Tom Pratt’s turn to threaten, sidefooting over the bar from an Evans cross. Then, home right back Musa Jobe enjoyed a free ride down the Dabbers left before his pick-out ended in a shot being blocked in the home side’s biggest opening of the first half.
Evans was really growing into this one, clearly hungry after 2 games away. He had one shot blocked, then Robson just stopped him as he tried to round the keeper. He then saw a shot drop onto the roof of the net as he got closer each time.
The opener, when it came, was a little scruffy but vitally important. A long ball was knocked down into the path of Panter, who slipped at first then recovered to fire past Robson.
A smattering of half chances came and went, most notably crosses from the hard working full back pairing of James Melhado and Perry Bircumshaw. City of Liverpool player/manager Andy Owens sent an overhead kick well wide before Tom Dean headed tamely at Ben Garratt.
The Dabbers grabbed a second goal just two minutes before half time. Evans was picked out by Panter and cut inside to curl in a deserved goal. That was his first since the defeat at Avro at the end of November, so even taking into account his ban this had been a long time coming for Kai.
The second half was among the craziest seen in a Nantwich league game for some years, and it got off to the worst possible start for Jon Moran’s side.
City of Liverpool pulled a goal back after Kelvin Mellor was dispossessed high up the pitch. The lack of a meaningful shout of ‘man on’ or similar was palpable in such a large and largely empty arena where such things would be easier to hear. Eoin Horgan was the beneficiary as he scored simply past Garratt. The recurring theme of being slow out of the blocks in halfs also remains a worry.
It was a wobble that was thankfully righted when the two goal lead was restored 7 minutes later. It all came from a long kick out of the hands from Garratt, it was brought down and fed to Evans who needed no second invitation to charge at goal and score again, this time high into the net past Robson.
Moore hit the side netting but Nantwich still weren’t comfortable, as was proved when City of Liverpool came forward after more poor play at the back and made it 3-2 courtesy of Xenon Bahula, who squeezed it through the legs of Bircumshaw and past Garratt. These were two bad goals to concede to statistically the worst team in the league and errors that need to be cut out if the Dabbers are to progress.
However, those concerns were pushed to the back of collective minds as the game then swung decisively and spectacularly the Dabbers’ way. 2 minutes after the home side’s second goal, Tom Pratt was pulled back in the box for a Nantwich penalty.
Byron Harrison was on the pitch by this point but it was Evans who took and converted the penalty to complete his hat trick, his third hat trick of the season. Evans has 14 goals this campaign and 9 of them have come in hat tricks. Evans and Harrison have always seemed to have a good relationship so it would be no surprise if Byron gave up the chance to allow Evans to claim another matchball.
Thankfully Harrison’s generosity was rewarded with a goal of his own not long after. A cross from the left fell in a great position for Byron to smash in emphatically for his 10th of the season.
Moore made it 6-2 as we ticked into the last 10 minutes. It was a bizarre sight as the home defence practically stopped perhaps thinking there was an offside leaving Moore all alone to take on and beat Robson and roll it in for back-to-back goals following his finish against Runcorn last weekend.
Hogan and Owens both had efforts at the Nantwich goal as the hosts admirably kept going, but sadly for them the scoring wasn’t yet over.
It was a very similar situation to the sixth goal as Callum Saunders ran through unchallenged to round the keeper and make it 7-2.
The Purps still tried to add to their goals but were being picked off almost at will by Nantwich. Number 8 was scored on 90 minutes and was arguably the best of the lot. Pratt got the ball on the left side of the box, and with Robson in no man’s land he delightfully lifted it over him and into the unguarded net, leaving the rarely seen scoreline of 8-2 to Nantwich.
It’s only the second time in the 21st century that Nantwich have scored 8 away from home, after an 8-0 win over Leigh Genesis in 2009, although still some way off the biggest ever away win of 14-1 over the Rolls Royce works team in 1946.
They won’t want pity, but City of Liverpool’s situation is a grim one. Last season they finished in the play-offs and matched the Dabbers’ achievement of getting to the 4th Round of the FA Trophy. Now they are in a position where they’ve been forced into switching stadiums and their relegation could be confirmed next weekend with 9 games of the season still left. It’s a warning to all at this level that even ‘boring’ stability should not be taken for granted.
Teams
City of Liverpool: Conor Robson, Musa Jobe (Evan Smith, 72), J’nai Butterfield-Steede, Andy Owens, Tom Dean, Michael Grogan (C), Deacon Smalley (Ibrahima Conteh, 69), Astley Mulholland (Kostas Minios, 86), Alex Northover (Jadel Musanhu, 78), Eoin Hogan, Xenon Bahula
Goals: Hogan (52), Bahula (66)
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, James Melhado, Perry Bircumshaw, Kelvin Mellor, Troy Bourne (C), Joe Bunney, Kofi Moore (Nathan Sandison, 81), Joe Robbins (Matty Tweedley, 69), Alex Panter (Byron Harrison, 52), Tom Pratt, Kai Evans (Callum Saunders, 75)
Sub not used: Darren Thornton
Goals: Panter (22), Evans (43, 59, 68 [pen]), Harrison (71), Moore (80), Saunders (86), Pratt (90)
Attendance: 211