Written by Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White and Peter Robinson
Nantwich Town defeated Stratford Town 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw at the Swansway Stadium to advance to the Second Round of the FA Trophy.
The away side might have been down to 10 men inside the first 10 minutes. Captain Paul McCobe pulled back Kai Evans who looked to be through on goal but was only booked.
From the resulting free kick, Steven Hewitt hit the inside of the post and saw it spin away, it was a strike worthy of a goal.
Danny Roberts, making his Nantwich debut in goal, made a couple of simple saves to ease himself into the game.
Troy Bourne made a couple of vital interceptions, one after Charlie Williams had got in behind, but that was as good as it got for the visitors in the first half.
It was very bitty and scrappy football for the most part, inconsistent decisions from the referee not helping things.
Also not helping things was the continuation of the Dabbers’ injury curse. Sean Lawton got booked for simulation after 10 minutes in an incident that left him hurt. Lawton gamely struggled on for about 20 minutes before admitting defeat and being replaced by Cam Rooney.
Mo Ali mishit a shot over the bar after a fierce Hewitt cross into the corridor of uncertainty.
Then on the stroke of half time, Connor Heath pulled up and didn’t emerge for the second half, with Jake Kirby-Reid coming on.
In the second half, Roberts was called into action much more seriously, a brilliant save from a low snapshot from Worley was the standout as Stratford came out much stronger in the second half.
Charlie Williams hit the post after a deflected Jack Storer shot but the offside flag went up, as the Dabbers were beginning to hang on.
A twist came on 72 minutes, when Lee Vaughan was shown a second yellow card for a trip on Kai Evans. If you include the second yellow, Stratford had 6 bookings in the game which tells you all you need to know about their physical approach to the game. But the red didn’t seem to deter the Bards though as they kept charging forward.
Stratford top scorer Callum Ebanks made a mess of a ball across the box and had another effort saved by Roberts. Then Bourne, who had been thrown upfront towards the end, couldn’t get a clean strike on a dropping ball, and time was up.
For the second round in a row, the Dabbers found themselves needing penalties. The first round was scored, before Kirby saw his saved and Ison did for Stratford.
Hewitt converted his before Roberts made his second save, from Dan Lafferty, that proved decisive as the Dabbers scored their rest, the winner converted by Ahmed Ali, who repeated his decisive kick from the last round. All’s well that ends well for the Dabbers.
The next home game is on Saturday 4th November at 3pm against Newcastle Town.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Danny Roberts, Troy Bourne, Sean Lawton (Cam Rooney, 29), Ahmed Ali, Mo Ali, Scott Butler, Connor Heath (Jake Kirby, 45), Steven Hewitt, Byron Harrison (Sean Cooke, 80), Paddy Kay, Kai Evans
Subs not used: James Speare, Nathan Okome
Stratford Town: Liam O’Brien, Alex Worley, Paul McCone, Tom Solanke, Charlie Williams, Lewis Ison, Callum Ebanks, Dan Lafferty, Jack Storer, Chris Hussey, Lee Vaughan
Subs not used: Liam Day, Louis Beresford, Jaylan Wildbore, Devonn O’Sullivan, Dylan Barkers
Attendance: 279