By Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White
Wythenshawe claimed their first ever win in the modern eighth tier of English football with a 2-1 victory over Nantwich at the Swansway Stadium.
Jon Moran reached the milestone of 100 Nantwich appearances, while Joel Connolly joined Troy Bourne, Kai Evans and Perry Bircumshaw on the recent injury list, with Tom Pratt replacing Connolly. Their absences were acutely missed.
The Ammies started strong and stayed strong throughout the first half. Ben Garratt was forced into early action with a save at his near post.
James Simms fired over after Moran gave the ball away high up, before Garratt had to make a challenge on the edge of his box to stop a Wythenshawe charge. This was the first of many.
The visitors’ positive play was rewarded on 18 minutes when Callum Laird followed in his first effort that was saved by Garratt to roll into the empty net. It was a deserved lead.
Nantwich created precisely nothing from open play in the first half, their two minor openings coming from free kicks. Cole Lonsdale kicked off a routine that ended with Kelvin Mellor’s cross being cleared away. Lonsdale went direct next time but could only find the Wythenshawe wall.
Garratt was busy again near the whistle, two bits of good keeping meaning it was only 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, it was largely more of the same. Starting with the extra work for Garratt. He was booked for bringing down a Wythenshawe player just outside the box just three minutes into the second period. This was getting ridiculous, Garratt was almost an auxiliary centre back for large parts of this game, not as a tactic but due to the immobility and poor distribution of the defenders ahead of him.
The Dabbers huffed and puffed, a Courtney Meppen-Walters header being deflected wide was the best they mustered up to the hour mark.
The two recent recruits of Kofi Moore and Peter Moore (no relation) were introduced with about half an hour to go to try and inject some momentum into Nantwich’s play.
Meppen-Walters came closer still with another header which was forced away either by Ammies keeper Kyle Haslam or one of the defenders around him.
But just as Nantwich tried to spark into life, Wythenshawe doubled their lead. Abdullahi Ahmed went round Garratt and scored to delight the travelling supporters. It was a gift of a goal to concede and those gifts are racking up already in the fledgling season.
A pair of shots between each side didn’t come any closer to changing the score as the time ticked away.
Nantwich did get on the scoresheet as we went into stoppage time. Meppen-Walters scored after lashing in on the second attempt from a deep ball into the box. But it says a lot that the big centre-back was by far Nantwich’s biggest goalscoring threat in this match.
A last-ditch Lonsdale free kick over the bar extinguished any rekindled hopes of anything from the game for Nantwich, who must get over themselves quickly for Newcastle Town away on Monday.
The next home game for Nantwich is against Wythenshawe Town on Saturday 14th September at 3pm.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, James Melhado (Paddy Kennedy, 86), Cole Lonsdale, Kelvin Mellor, Courtney Meppen-Walters, Jon Moran (Kofi Moore, 64), Matty Tweedley, Tom Pratt, Byron Harrison, Gio Loureiro (Eddie Servuts, 82), Callum Saunders (Peter Moore, 64)
Sub not used: Tom Reilly
Goal: Meppen-Walters (90+1)
Wythenshawe: Kyle Haslam, Alastair Brown, Adam Owen, Fraser Goodwin, Abiola Obasato, Ryan Shenton, Abdullahi Ahmed, James Simms (Cameron Annis-Wade, 70), Callum Laird (Jardel Depeiaza, 82), Andrew Keogh, Adam Davies (Ryan Tioffo, 58)
Subs not used: Paul Riley, Henry Brown
Goals: Laird (18), Ahmed (77)
Attendance: 374