By Myles Hocknell, photo by Josh Tyler-Williams
Nantwich Town FC Women produced a fantastic comeback away to Darwen FC, fighting back from two goals down to secure a 3-2 victory and extend their winning run to five consecutive games.
The Dabbers started positively, with Katie Greenwood registering the first shot on target in the seventh minute. Her effort was struck at the goalkeeper, who fumbled the ball before recovering just in time to collect it ahead of Amanda Fallon.
However, Darwen took control of the scoreline, finding the net twice inside the opening half-hour to put Nantwich 2-0 behind.
The Dabbers responded in spectacular fashion through new signing Mollie Newton, who produced a stunning first-time strike from midway inside the opposition half. The effort flew into the net for a screamer and her first goal for Nantwich, giving the visitors a crucial lifeline heading into the break.
Nantwich came out for the second half determined to get back on level terms, and their persistence paid off when Katie Naylor found the net directly from a corner to bring the Dabbers level at 2-2.
Darwen looked to respond, with two efforts going narrowly wide, while Lacey Martin tried her luck from the edge of the box, sending her shot over the crossbar.
The Dabbers continued to push forward and completed their remarkable turnaround with a third goal. Corie Mather thundered the ball into the box, where Fallon was on hand to get a crucial touch and divert it past the goalkeeper to give Nantwich a 3-2 lead.
Having battled back from two goals down, the Dabbers showed their determination and resilience to see out the remainder of the game and secure all three points.
It was a superb team effort from Nantwich, with Newton’s spectacular first goal, Naylor’s equaliser and Fallon’s decisive finish completing an excellent comeback on the road.
The GOAT Player of the Match was awarded to Tegan Ansell after her battling throughout the game. She caused problems for the opposition both on and off the ball during the 90 minutes.
Assistant Manager, Louis Stallman, had this to say on the fantastic comeback:
“An excellent result and one that showed top character from the group. We made life difficult for ourselves in the first half, with mistakes costing us and our quality in possession not where it needed to be, meaning we’ve had to really dig deep to come back from 2-0 down.
The response after the break was first class. We showed real fight and determination, but also much better quality and decision-making to get ourselves level. We had to suffer at times in a short period after we equalised, but I thought we managed the latter stages really well and totally deserved the late winner.
That’s four consecutive away wins now, which is a fantastic effort from the group. We need to take the lessons from those games, both good and bad, into next weekend at home to Bolton, which will arguably be our toughest test so far.”
Starting 11: Connie Watts, Sasha Johnson, Mollie Newton, Sam Cawley, Katie Naylor, Katie Greenwood, Meg Andrews, Meg Ragdale (C), Amanda Fallon, Tegan Ansell, Lacey Martin.
Substitutes: Abi Poulton, Alicia Hatton, Corie Mather, Poppy Emery, Layla Woollam.
The Dabbers make their return to the Swansway Stadium this Sunday, with match against top of the league Bolton Wanderers.