Ritchie Sutton described his sides 2-1 victory against Atherton Collieries as a “fantastic victory” as they came from behind to beat fellow strugglers Atherton Collieries at the Swansway Stadium. “We’ve performed will and not took the points that we deserved, today we were under par, but we managed to get the three points at home which is fantastic and it gives the fans something to cheer about”
The game got off to the worst possible start for The Dabbers as Scott Bakkor gave the visitors the lead inside five minutes. He managed to get on the end of a long ball up field before driving into the box and cutting inside and slotting home, underneath Tom Booth to put his side ahead.
After going a goal ahead early on, Atherton had a spring in their step and came close to doubling their lead five minutes later. Colls skipper Dan Lafferty got on the end of a deep freekick but his header was easy for Tom Booth in The Dabbers goal. On the half hour mark the visitors had another golden opportunity as Jay Fitzmartin burst through Nantwich’s backline and as he got into the box, he chanced his arm but Troy Bourne was there with a last ditch tackle to clear the danger and keep his side In the game.
Nantwich Town hadn’t threatened all game, but they managed to find a leveller through top scorer Dan Cockerline on the stroke of half time. Tom Scully’s freekick was headed down by Jon Moran, into the path of Dan Cockerline who managed to bundle home from close range to level the scores and give the Dabbers something to build on in the second half.
At half time, The Dabbers would’ve considered themselves lucky to not be behind, Colls had numerous chances to score more than one, but failed to take their chances meaning Nantwich were able to get back into the game.
The second half started much like the first with the visiors having the better of the opportunities, Fitzmartin once again got inbehind but his effort was comfortably saved by Tom Booth. In the 52nd minute Fitzmartin had a golden chance to put his side ahead. Bakkor found space down the left side, as he got to the byline he crossed towards an unmarked Fitzmartin who had the whole goal to aim at but his volley from six yards out ballooned over the crossbar.
In the 57th minute, the game changed. Jay Fitzmartin was beaten to a long ball by Tom Booth before the Atherton forward recklessly lunged in on the Dabbers keeper leaving the referee with no choice but to brandish the red card meaning his side were forced to play the last half hour with ten men.
The Dabbers now had the man advantage and they almost took immediate advantage of this in the 68thminute. Adam Dawson’s corner caused chaos in the Atherton box, eventually the ball landed to Dan Cockerline but his acrobatic volley went over the crossbar. Dawson was playing an instrumental role in the Dabbers offensive play, He showed excellent footwork down the left side before crossing to Troy Bourne but couldn’t keep his header down. One minute later, Nantwich were millimeters away from going ahead. On loan Altrincham forward Ryan Morton did well to keep the ball on the edge of the box before he took aim but his effort crashed off the post before it was cleared way to danger.
The Dabbers were on top, but they just couldn’t make their pressure count and as the time ticked down it was looking less and less likey that they would take the lead. However, In the 80th minute captain Troy Bourne beat the keeper to Tom Scully’s freeekick and looped a header over Owen Mooney in the Colls goal to put his side ahead with just ten minutes of the game left to play.
“I didn’t really see much of Dan’s goal, but he tapped it in on the line, And then Troy has a knack of getting winners so its brilliant for him because he’s a lovely lad and if anyone deserves it its him. It was a great win today but we still have plenty of games left so we’ll dust ourselves down and move onto another big game on Tuesday” said Sutton
The Dabbers had a golden chance to seal the deal when Dan Cockerline counter attacked but he rushed his effort and it went well wide of the mark, Ryan Morton had made a great run outside him and the better option was probably to slide him In behind.
The referee had indicated seven minutes of added time which was probably fair considering all the stoppages that there had been over the course of the game. In the 94th minute Atherton really should have levelled the game. Substitute Bailey Thompson broke into the box before getting to the byline and squaring to Bakkor who just had to roll home from six yards out but Tom Booth somehow managed to save with his legs as he throw himself in front of Bakkor’s effort.
“We’ve spoke a few times about Tom, yes he’s made the odd error here and there, but he’s saved us so many points over the season with his ability to save crucial goals. He’s saved us two points there just with his ability to save shots” added Sutton.
The game ended with the Dabbers picking up a crucial three points which lifts them up to 16th in the table, overtaking todays opponents Atherton Collieries.
Next up for The Dabbers is Matlock Town at The Swansway stadium on Tuesday 7th February
Attendance: 333
LINE UPS:
Nantwich Town:
Tom Booth, Troy Bourne, Perry Bircumshaw, Carl Dickinson, Jon Moran, Tom Scully, James Caton (Ivan Urvantev 59’), Jack Sherratt (Steven Hewitt 59’), Dan Cockerline, Byron Harrison, Adam Dawson.
Subs not used: Mwiya Malumo, Sean Lawton
Atherton Collieries:
Owen Mooney, Clive Smith, Joel Amado, Oliver Brown (Ethan Kershaw 66’), Dan Lafferty, Luca Hansen (Gaz Peet 83’), Ben Hardcastle, Aaron Pettifer (Jack Lenehan 73’), Scott Bakkor, Jay Fitzmartin, Marcus Cusani
Subs not used: Jack Lenehan, Adam Rooney