By Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White
Nantwich Town were beaten at home again as Vauxhall Motors won 5-3 in an enthralling game at the Swansway Stadium.
The Dabbers made 3 changes from the painful loss to Wythenshawe Town with James Baillie, Byron Moore and Byron Harrison all starting.
And at least one of those changes paid off within the first 5 minutes as the Dabbers took the lead.
Moore was in an unconventional left back position and cut onto his right foot, crossing dangerously into the box where Alex Panter latched onto it and eventually squeezed in on the second attempt.
That was his first goal since the draw at Darlaston 6 games previously. Footage did show the ball hitting Panter’s hand right before he scored; difficult for the officials to spot but in a VAR game the goal would most likely have been disallowed.
It didn’t take long for Vauxhall to respond. Just 3 minutes later a cross from the right was headed in by Conor Harwood; the 5th game in a row in which he’s scored. The way the ball looped over Ben Garratt did suggest it may have come off the shoulder but they all count.
Harwood should have scored again 2 minutes after that. Found in acres of space in the box by former Dabber Nathan Sandison his side-footed effort went over the bar when it should have gone in.
The early chances kept coming. Byron Harrison was played clean through, gave the keeper the eyes with his finish but put it wide, to the astonishment of the crowd who’ve seen him put those away so many times before in a Nantwich shirt. 13 minutes in the game should have been 2-2.
It was 2-1 Vauxhall on 15 minutes. Harwood was found too easily again, and there was no doubt about the contact on this goal as he hit hard and low past Garratt.
The front 2 of Panter and Harrison combined to set up an opportunity for George Cooper but he fired off target.
His next effort was much closer, as a cleanly hit free kick was well saved by Reece Trueman.
Vauxhall struck again just past the half hour mark. Captain Nick Rushton was picked out and rounded Garratt to make it 3-1. Garratt may reflect that he went to ground too quickly but it may not have made any difference.
Another ex-Dabber Joe Malkin missed the target with an effort, as did Panter at the other end.
Harwood and Josh Solomon-Davies in particular were having a lot of fun out there but were not adequately challenged by the Dabbers defence or midfield; no one seemed prepared to bring either of them down and take a yellow card for the team when the danger they were posing was clear for all to see.
From a corner that Harwood won from another mazy run, Vauxhall made it 4 on the cusp of half time. The ball was put on top of Garratt and he did punch it clear, but only to the lurking Wade Rutherford who headed into the net. All the players were in the 6-yard box except for Rutherford, which perhaps was the plan for Vauxhall for him to pick up any second balls like that.
There was genuine anger from small sections of the home crowd at the half time whistle, a real rarity at the Swansway Stadium but they could see another game running away from their team and another heap of goals conceded to boot.
Whatever was said at half time worked as the Dabbers then put in their best 45 minutes of football in at least 6 weeks.
Panter scored early in the half again, placing it into the bottom corner from a pullback from the left.
Garratt had to make a sharp save from distance as Vauxhall continued to carry a threat.
Panter might have got a hat trick with a header which was difficult but scoreable under pressure from bodies around him.
The deficit was reduced to 1 half way through the second half. A searching cross from the right was not dealt with by the Vauxhall defence and Moore was there to lash in at the back post. The crowd now sensed a chance of an extraordinary comeback.
And that comeback was nearly completed by Panter when he broke through into the box, successfully lifted it over the onrushing Trueman but it didn’t have the pace to get there and the Vauxhall defence were able to clear from nearly on the goalline.
It was the first time in the game that Vauxhall genuinely looked short of any sort of composure, but thankfully for them it didn’t stretch to the entire team.
In a moment of struggle it was the skipper Rushton who stepped forward to restore a two-goal margin. Again the space on the flanks was brutally exposed as he rolled the ball under Garratt in what must have been a huge release of pressure.
The only question in the build up to the goal was a potential foul on sub Callum Saunders in the Vauxhall box. There was the briefest of tugs on his shirt but whether it was enough for a penalty to be given is up for debate.
Nantwich had a couple more chances to score before the end; Saunders was so unlucky to see an acrobatic effort come off the inside of the post and Paddy Kennedy put a header just wide.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, James Baillie (Aidy Roxburgh, 62), Byron Moore (Harry Bower, 82), Joel Connolly (C), Josh Langley, Paddy Kennedy, George Cooper (Paddy Jarrett, 74), Joe Robbins, Byron Harrison (Callum Saunders, 66), Oli Finney (Fenton Green, 50), Alex Panter
Goals: Panter (5, 52), Moore (67)
Vauxhall Motors: Reece Trueman, Josh Solomon-Davies, Jordan Deer, Wade Rutherford, Michael Grogan, Finlay Heath, Nathan Sandison, Conor Harwood, Joe Malkin, Nick Rushton (C), Kyle Sambor
Goals: Harwood (8, 15) Rushton (31, 71), Rutherford (45+3)
Attendance: 376