By Liam Price
Nantwich Town put on a dominant second half performance to secure a 2-0 win away at Shifnal Town.
The hosts hit the woodwork inside the first 10 minutes when a quick throw in caught the Dabbers out; Ben Hockenhull could only clear to Matt Barnes-Homer who fired a shot off the crossbar.
The Dabbers responded with a close chance of their own when a good cross from Perry Bircumshaw was headed narrowly over the bar by Alex Panter.
A couple more Shifnal shots didn’t trouble Ben Garratt, then it was the turn of both Nantwich wing backs to threaten as first Bircumshaw fired across the face of goal then Aidy Roxburgh very nearly saw a pullback turned into his own net by a Shifnal defender who just found his feet in time.
The end-to-end nature continued when Fenton Green saw a hard and low effort saved and held by former Dabbers keeper Andy Wycherley, then Garratt had to adjust in mid-air to parry a Shifnal effort.
Roxburgh was being left unmarked at the back post a few times and a header was carried out for a corner by Wycherley who was expecting the cross to sail behind.
Paddy Kennedy was at his very best to tackle Lewis Jarman in the box as he looked set to shoot following a quick Shifnal counter.
Then came the big moment of the half. An innocuous bit of play in the right corner saw a Shifnal player break towards the box. He then went down under pressure from a Nantwich defender and the referee pointed to the penalty spot, the suggestion being there was a trip but it was hard to tell live.
Barnes-Homer was the man again to take it on, but Shifnal’s top scorer again hit the woodwork as he went for the top corner but put it too high. Nantwich had been good in the first half but were a combined 10 centimetres or so from being 2-0 down.
In the second half, there was no doubt about the better side as the Dabbers put on one of their best attacking showings for a while.
There was more danger before that, though, as a little hesitation from Garratt to a ball over the top allowed Kieran Cook to get a shot away but it dribbled wide via a slight deflection.
A concerted spell of pressure followed from Nantwich, as first Panter curled a shot over the bar from a position in the box that he’s been scoring from all season.
Then it was Green who from a narrow angle tested Wycherley with a low shot after a dangeorus cross in from Bircumshaw again.
The biggest chance yet came when Panter was sprung in behind, but as in the reverse game, Wycherley used his leg to great effect to tip it behind for a corner.
Those last 3 chances came in the space of 5 minutes, but just as thoughts started to drift to how Nantwich might regret those misses they did open the scoring from that next corner.
Joel Connolly’s deliveries have become a potent weapon and this one did the damage again, with Shifnal not able to get a good touch to clear which allowed Byron Harrison to tap in from close range for his 11th league goal of the season. There’s rightly been a lot of plaudits for Panter but Harrison is now only 5 league goals behind him at time of writing.
The Dabbers didn’t take their foot off the gas, another corner almost delivering a second goal then Green again denied by Wycherley.
A second goal did follow 8 minutes after the first. The ball was worked across from right to left where Bircumshaw steadied himself then fired high into the roof of the net via a slight deflection for his 3rd of the season in all competitions and first since October.
There were chances for more goals. Green saw a strike go just wide of the near post after a superb first touch in what was a really sharp performance in a more advanced midfield position than he’s usually played this season.
Cook had a couple of snapshots that didn’t cause major issues for Garratt, before another ball went across the face of goal and was begging to be put in for the Dabbers.
Joe Robbins sent a shot over the bar then Garratt had to make his best save late on down low to his left to maintain the clean sheet.
Panter had 2 more shots on target in stoppage time, not to be for him in this game but overall it was a strong night for the Dabbers in what has often been the ingredients for defeat this season: a cold and damp midweek away game against a decent opponent.
Teams
Shifnal Town: Andy Wycherley, Josh Green (Archie Elsdon, 71), Stephen Morley, Sam Griffiths, Louis Bradford, Kyle Bennett (C), Kieran Cook (Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen, 85), Elliott Durrell, Matt Barnes-Homer (Kevin Monteiro, 71), Lewis Jarman, MacAuley Taylor
Sub not used: Jack Fishman
Nantwich Town: Ben Garratt, Aidy Roxburgh (James Baillie, 80), Perry Bircumshaw, Adam Rooney, Ben Hockenhull, Paddy Kennedy, Alex Panter, Joe Robbins (Joe Collins, 76), Byron Harrison (Byron Moore, 80), Joel Connolly (C) (Paddy Jarrett, 80), Fenton Green (Kelvin Mellor, 76)
Goals: Harrison (61), Bircumshaw (69)
Attendance: 137