Nantwich Town drew 1-1 in a tense game against relegation-battling Mickleover Sports at the Weaver Stadium, writes Liam Roe.
Liam Shotton’s goal on 15 minutes was cancelled out by Jake Green seven minutes later as the away side cemented their place in the league for next season.
Ahead of the game, a minute’s silence was beautifully observed in honour of former Nantwich Town manager Glyn Morris who lost his battle with cancer.
Green was enjoying a lot of the ball down the right wing early on and saw several of his crosses played away by the Nantwich defence.
It was Mickleover who almost found themselves in the lead when Andy Dales unleashed a strike from distance, but Daniel Gyollai pulled off a fine save to deny the midfielder.
Nantwich were next to create a chance as Andy White found himself with the ball down the left after some fast-paced play from the home side.
The defender drilled in a delivery across the face of goal, however it was just out of reach for the oncoming Dabbers attacking contingent.
The hosts did find the first goal after 15 minutes, though. A long ball fell to Shotton in the box, and the striker took his time before bending the ball past Tolley and into the back of the net with precision.
Sports responded well and seven minutes later had an equaliser. Joe Fitzpatrick floated a diagonal ball into the Nantwich box from the right and forward Green nodded the ball past Gyollai and into the bottom corner from six yards.
Two chances in quick succession presented themselves to the Dabbers when Josh Gordon flicked on a ball to Shotton in the area, but the striker was unable to convert past Tolley who rushed from his goal to collect the ball.
Moments later, White fired over from a few yards out.
As half time approached, Sean Cooke almost forced the Dabbers into the lead, but his bullet of a shot from the corner of the box fell the wrong side of the far post.
It was nearly a perfect start to the second half for Nantwich; Cooke’s pinpoint free-kick into the box reached Gordon – who couldn’t quite direct his header goalwards from close range.
Just before the hour mark Nial Thompson had an opportunity to score when a short corner reached him in the box, but the Mickleover number eight couldn’t keep his shot down from a tight angle.
There was a chance a piece for the two sides to take the lead as Shotton threaded through Gordon, who was challenged by Nico Degirolamo to deny him a shot at goal. Seconds later, Gyollai was forced to save a low, hard shot from the opposition.
On 71 minutes Green somehow scooped the ball into his control at the back post after a ball from Dales, although he couldn’t beat Gyollai who stood tall and blocked his shot.
A minute later, Dales saw his effort from the edge of the area fly over the crossbar.
A draw would be enough to keep the visitors in the league, and they were more than happy to play for the result they needed.
But chances did come their way, and Fitzpatrick could have sealed their Northern Premier League safety for sure had he not headed straight at Gyollai from a Mickleover corner.
It was evident that the Dabbers didn’t want to settle for a draw, as James Baillie showed urgency by running across the edge of the box before crossing only for Degirolamo to clear – but despite their best efforts they took a share of the points.
Nantwich Town host Frickley Athletic on Saturday afternoon, in what is the last game of the season. Kick-off is at 3pm.
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