By Liam Price, photo by Wendy Hill
Nantwich Town put on a spectacular second half performance to thrash Stafford Rangers 6-1 on New Year’s Day on what turned out to be Jon Moran’s final game as Dabbers manager.
It was the visitors, who came into this game on a 6-game losing streak, that took an early lead. After a Byron Moore shot was well saved at one end, a giveaway at the back allowed John Atherton the time and space to pick out the bottom corner in the 10th minute.
The Boro continued to push, coming closest again when heading a corner narrowly over the bar.
The Dabbers looked shaky but stayed in the game, and eventually worked an equaliser 5 minutes before half time.
A Joe Robbins cross was headed towards goal by Byron Harrison, Shaun Rowley made a fine save but Moore was there to bury the rebound.
The second half then went beyond any Dabbers’ wildest dreams. In the 47th minute, a Moore cross was flicked on by Josh Langley, it hit a Stafford defender and forced Rowley to readjust to make a save, he didn’t get enough on it and Harrison gobbled up the chance.
3 minutes later, a peach of a first time cross from Player of the Match Joe Collins was headed in by Alex Panter. It was straight at Rowley but he could do nothing but watch it go in off his chest as it was too powerful. That’s now 5 games in a row that Panter has scored in.
Moore got his second another 3 minutes later. It was Collins with the cross again, it was sent high off the head of Paddy Jarrett and Rowley made a real mess of an attempted punch with Moore slotting it home.
The rampant Dabbers were not done yet. They made it 4 goals in 16 minutes when Jarrett superbly played in Panter who got the benefit of a ricochet off Rowley to roll in number 5. There had been an element of luck about all of the Nantwich goals but the quality of some of the assists was first class.
Ashley Fallon hit the crossbar with a fine strike late on as Stafford attempted to reduce the arrears.
But there was still time for Nantwich to get a 6th. Jarrett completed a hat-trick of assists after being a half-time substitute, playing the ball via a Harrison dummy to the feet of George Cooper, who curled in the pick of the goals to grab his first for the club.
Saunders should have added a 7th with the last kick of the game but the day was very much Nantwich’s.
The joy of this start to 2026 for Nantwich turned to shock for many as Moran’s decision to step down was announced a couple of hours after full time.
A decision taken after the Witton game on Boxing Day and only shared with the players in the dressing room post-Stafford, in his own words on social media Moran said ‘it is right for me to step away and allow a fresh perspective to be taken’.
While the wins over Bootle and Stafford have provided green shoots, it had been a tough spell over the past couple of months starting with the shock 3-0 loss at Newcastle Town in October, the start of a run of 2 wins and 8 defeats in 11 league games.
But there was little doubt that Moran still had the full backing of the club and the vast majority of its supporters, as borne out by the messages about the news over the last couple of days.
That largely comes down to something deeper than results. Moran’s connection with Nantwich goes back over a decade, across 2 spells as a player and this stint as manager. He was first part of Phil Parkinson’s FA Trophy semi-finalists in 2016/17 before rejoining Dave Cooke’s Nantwich in 2022.
After Paul Carden left to go back to Warrington in 2024, Moran stepped into the breach at just 27 years old initially on an interim basis, the youngest Nantwich manager since Cooke over 40 years ago and one of the youngest in the whole country.
And no manager since Cooke has ‘got’ Nantwich as Moran did, particularly around the desire to play attacking football and giving academy players a chance in the first team.
8 wins in his first 10 league games propelled the Dabbers to as high as 3rd last season, before a bad loss of form at the turn of the year took the team out of play-off contention.
He was then faced with a daunting squad rebuild as several important first teamers departed over the summer, and seemed to have done that mostly successfully.
But perhaps the worry of history repeating itself this season form-wise, as the goal ideally remains the play-offs, is what’s played a part in this decision. In that context, it can be seen as an incredibly selfless act from a man who has always had the best interests of Nantwich Town at heart. And with this Stafford result, it was some way to sign off.
Teams
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, Aidy Roxburgh, Joel Connolly (C), Joe Robbins (James Baillie, 80), Josh Langley, Paddy Kennedy (Ben Hockenhull, 88), Alex Panter (George Cooper, 72), Joe Collins, Byron Harrison, Fenton Green (Paddy Jarrett, 46), Byron Moore (Callum Saunders, 77)
Goals: Moore (40, 53), Harrison (47), Panter (50, 63), Cooper (90+2)
Stafford Rangers: Shaun Rowley, Andrew Burns, Ben O’Hanlon, Jack Sherratt (Harley Irwin, 81), James O’Neill (C), Harry Flowers, John Atherton, Mason Rees (Ashley Fallon, 72), Brad Mansell (Kaiman Anderson, 58), Jack Birch (Joe Thomas, 60), Dylan Scott
Sub not used: Jadel Musanhu
Goal: Atherton (10)
Attendance: 845