By Liam Price, photos by Jonathan White
Nantwich exited the FA Youth Cup after a 3-2 defeat away at Stourbridge in the First Qualifying Round.
Goalkeeper and captain Louis Melling had a couple of early saves to make but was up to the task.
Freddie Shawcross fired over the bar for Nantwich with the best opening for either side in the first 20 minutes.
But it was the home side who took the lead on the half hour. A deep free kick was floated towards the back post and turned in by Fahran Sumnall with what looked a bit of a mishit. A strange goal to look at but one Nantwich will feel was preventable.
Kenzie Pickles had a couple of shots as the Dabbers responded well. They’d been on top before that goal and reestablished that control after conceding.
Stourbridge doubled their lead shortly after the start of the second half. Rhys Halliday found a bit of space on the right side of the box and hit a low shot that unfortunately went straight through Melling.
It’s a moment he’ll want to forget but these things happen to all goalkeepers at some point. Looking at his wider body of work over the 2 Youth Cup games there has been a lot to admire, and don’t forget he’s recently been made a part of the first team squad after catching the attention of Jon Moran and his staff.
The hosts had been given a talking to at the break and were responding to that, they struck the post a couple of minutes later.
However it was the Dabbers who were able to strike back in the 51st minute. It was Shawcross who got it, finishing low across the keeper to halve the deficit.
Stourbridge were now right back on the back foot and looked shaky for a spell. Nantwich flashed a cross across the face of goal and Shawcross couldn’t get his second when hitting straight at the keeper after being brilliantly found.
Melling made his best save despite there being an offside given, but could do little about the third goal that Stourbridge scored.
Charlie Arch hit a low free kick from the edge of the box that seemed to catch everyone out and restore the 2-goal lead.
That seemed to finally take the wind out of the sails of the Nantwich players and the home side did mostly a good job of managing the game. It had been played at a very high pace from the early stages, so much so that some of the youngsters were cramping up after 70 or so minutes.
Nantwich did get a goal back with what turned out to be the last kick of the game, Cole with a neat finish at the near post. He’d been a talkative, positive presence throughout the game which is something often lacking among young players.
There were definitely positives to take from this game for Nantwich despite the cheap goals conceded; turning up later than planned due to traffic they more than matched their opponents for large parts. That and the great Lichfield win in the previous round are good signs for the future.
