By Jonathan White, photo by Neil Workman
Nantwich Town U18s stormed into the quarter-finals of the Cheshire County Youth Cup with a superb 6-0 win over Stalybridge Celtic at the Swansway Stadium on Remembrance Sunday.
Fresh from a 5-1 victory in the previous round – and buoyed by the previous week’s 3-1 league win over the same opponents – the Dabbers went into the tie full of confidence. Both teams observed a minute’s silence before kick-off to honour those who gave their lives in service.
Nantwich started brightly and carved out several early chances, only to be denied by a determined Stalybridge defence. The visitors responded with pressure of their own, but the home back line stayed organised and kept them at arm’s length.
Midfielder Kenzie Pickles was at the heart of everything for Nantwich, dictating play and constantly stretching Stalybridge with his range of passing. His influence told just before the half-hour mark when he collected the ball on the edge of the box and drove a low strike into the bottom-right corner to break the deadlock.
The hosts doubled their lead moments before the break. A cross from the right found Billy Newman, who calmly converted to send Nantwich in 2-0 up at half-time.
Any hopes of a Stalybridge comeback were quashed less than a minute into the second half when Pickles struck again, firing home his second of the afternoon to make it 3-0.
Nantwich were relentless from that point. Ten minutes after the restart, Rhys Jones marked his first goal for the club with a tidy finish for 4-0, before Newman grabbed his second just two minutes later to put the Dabbers out of sight.
Stalybridge continued to battle and looked to push forward, but their attacking intent left gaps at the back. Substitute Archie Pearce exploited the space on the left wing, cutting inside past two defenders and delivering a dangerous low ball that was turned into the net by a Stalybridge defender for an own goal – wrapping up the scoring at 6-0.
Despite late pressure from the visitors, Nantwich’s defence – marshalled superbly by goalkeeper and captain Louis Melling – ensured the clean sheet remained intact, limiting Stalybridge to hopeful efforts from distance.
It was a complete team performance from a confident Nantwich side, combining individual quality with strong collective play to book their place in the last eight.
The Dabbers will face Chester FC U17 Colts in the quarter-finals on Sunday 7th December.
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