By Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White
Nantwich Town returned to winning ways with a 3-1 win over in-form Bootle at the Swansway Stadium.
Fenton Green, Aidy Roxburgh and Paddy Jarrett returned to the side in the changes from the defeat to Stalybridge 11 days prior.
Bootle had won 4 in a row before this game, but the Dabbers were up to the task from the start and kept them quiet in a tame first 25 minutes where very little happened.
Xavier Smith had the first shot of the game for Bootle, dragging it wide from distance.
It wasn’t until past the half hour mark that the game burst into life. Some interplay down the left ended with James Baillie standing up a cross for Aidy Roxburgh to rise highest to head in the opener. The full back to full back combination worked a treat in that moment; especially so for Roxburgh who scored his first ever Dabbers goal in this his second spell with the club.
8 minutes later it was 2-0 to Nantwich. Bootle were the architects of their downfall; in trying to take a quick free kick they proceeded to give the ball straight to Ben Hockenhull, he spread it out to the right where Alex Panter took it on. Cutting inside onto his left foot, he curled a peach of a shot right into the bottom corner. Reminiscent of his finish against Ossett in the FA Trophy, it was another to add to an impressive collection this season for Panter.
Bootle almost gave Panter his second goal right on half time, giving the ball away again right into his path they were able to close him down before he could get a shot away.
The Bucks did buck their ideas up in the second half but still struggled to test Ben Garratt in the Nantwich goal. A shot from distance was held by Garratt and a header was sent wide from a corner.
Roxburgh tried to get a second for himself but found it hard to steer a shot on target from a narrow angle.
Michael Simpson charged into the box dangerously but overran the ball for the Dabbers keeper.
Ste Edmondson had a better chance; breaking into the box his effort was smothered by Garratt who eventually dropped on the ball to prevent a rebound.
Panter had another effort on target but Bootle’s pressure did pay dividends in the 63rd minute.
Lewis Earl sent a whipped cross from the right into the Nantwich box which the defence didn’t deal with, allowing Courtney Duffus to fire hard and low into the corner. A neat finish for his 5th goal in his last 4 games.
Rather than spreading fear among the green shirts, which would have been understandable given recent form, instead the Bootle goal seemed to re-galvanise the Dabbers. First a tireless Fenton Green sent a shot wide from 25 yards.
But shortly after an even better outcome as Nantwich restored the 2-goal lead. Again Bootle have themselves to blame in part; a kick out from Tony Thompson was easily cut out by Baillie to put Nantwich straight back on the attack. Byron Harrison saw the run of Panter and played him in, with Alex doing the honours and rolling the ball under Thompson for his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
The only camera angle of the goal showed Panter may have been just offside, and Panter himself admitted afterwards he thought he might have been. But it all stemmed again from a Bootle error, mistakes they simply can’t have been making in their recent purple patch.
Bootle tried to go again but couldn’t find a way through, the closest they came was through a deflected free kick that Garratt had to push behind for a corner.
Jon Moran afterwards said that his side were ‘brilliant to a man’, and it was refreshing to see the return of this kind of positive, front foot performance, especially at home, after a very tough few weeks.
The next home game for Nantwich Town is against Stafford Rangers on New Year’s Day at 3pm.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, Aidy Roxburgh (Perry Bircumshaw, 90+2), James Baillie, Josh Langley, Ben Hockenhull, Paddy Kennedy, Paddy Jarrett (Joe Collins, 61), Joel Connolly (C), Byron Harrison (Byron Moore, 83), Fenton Green (George Cooper, 90), Alex Panter (Callum Saunders, 75)
Goals: Roxburgh (31), Panter (39, 67)
Bootle FC: Tony Thompson (C), Michael Simpson, Xavier Smith, Matty Fenton, Tom Hannigan, Lewis Earl (Harry Rimmer, 90+1), Sam Hughes, Jack Lenehan (Luke Alexander-Frost, 75), Courtney Duffus, Joe Woolley, Stephen Edmondson
Subs not used: Anthony Miley, Eoin Hogan
Goal: Duffus (63)
Attendance: 427