By Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White and Peter Robinson
Nantwich Town put in a superb display to beat Stalybridge Celtic 4-0 at the Swansway Stadium.
James Melhado made his league return after suspension while Callum Saunders came in for the ill Ali Hayder.
The tempo of the game was high from the start. Nathan Sandison squared for Saunders whose effort was deflected over the bar.
Byron Harrison saw a deflection off him almost in but stopped by James McClenaghan after he had initially missed a punch from a corner.
The in-form Joe Duckworth missed a sitter at the other end, sliding wide after Ben Garratt made a rare mishap with his own handling leaving an almost open goal.
Then, Paddy Kennedy headed over from a free kick by Sandison. Only 10 minutes in and it could easily have been 2-1 Nantwich.
Kennedy was alert at the other end to intercept in the box as Stalybridge were putting together a good move.
But in the 21st minute it was 1-0 to the Dabbers. Callum Saunders crossed deep from the left and it was met by Kai Evans who managed to squeeze it in at the far post. This came just seconds after the pair of them had switched sides, no one of a Nantwich persuasion would have been expecting that to pay off so quickly.
Evans forced McClenaghan into a save at his near post before the keeper cleared from the feet of Saunders.
A 1-2 between Byron Harrison and Tom Pratt ended with Pratt shooting high towards the corner but held comfortably by McClenaghan.
Nantwich stepped on the accelerator in the 2nd half. Pratt crossed just behind Harrison early on.
Max Leonard was denied by a great challenge in the box as the away side looked to hit back.
But it was that man Evans again who made it 2-0 with a finish from the left edge of the box just 6 minutes into the half. A slip from a defender aided his path but there was still a lot of work to do and he did it with aplomb.
Perry Bircumshaw cleared off the line as Celtic tried to halve the deficit.
Evans crossed just beyond the feet of Saunders before Garratt claimed a Stalybridge cross at the other end.
A powerhouse of a run from James Melhado provided the platform for Byron Harrison to roll in the Dabbers’ third and take the game away from the visitors. He drove past more than one Celtic defender to cross low to Harrison who needed no invitation to tap in.
Saunders saw an effort of his own cleared off the line as it threatened to get ugly for the away side.
Isaac Modi hit low to provide the first real challenging save for Garratt over 70 minutes in.
Melhado tried to repeat his trick in setting off down the right again but his cross couldn’t find anyone in green.
Jon Moran’s men eventually made it 4 with 2 minutes left on the clock. A mistake at the back by Liam Tongue allowed Evans to be played clean through and complete his second hat trick of the season, rounding off a commanding day for the Dabbers.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, James Melhado, Perry Bircumshaw, Kelvin Mellor, Troy Bourne (C), Paddy Kennedy, Callum Saunders (Joel Connolly, 75), Tom Pratt (Joe Robbins, 80), Byron Harrison, Nathan Sandison (Matty Tweedley, 63), Kai Evans
Subs not used: Courtney Meppen-Walters, Daz Thornton
Goals: Evans (21, 51, 88), Harrison (66)
Stalybridge Celtic: James McClenaghan, Luke Partington, Kyle Brownhill, Jordan Boon (Navid Nasseri, 63), Jordan Butterworth, Brandon Newell, Jack Irlam (Prince Anuniru, 67), Liam Tongue (C), Joe Duckworth (Jordan Burton, 67), Max Leonard, Isaac Modi
Subs not used: Sean Tse, Greg Wilkinson
Attendance: 612