Nantwich Town held to 0-0 draw by Buxton at Weaver Stadium

Nantwich Town remain unbeaten after two Evo-Stik Premier Division games after a tight 0-0 draw against Buxton, writes James Brown.

Defences were on top at the Weaver Stadium with the likes of Danny Glover having efforts blocked while at the other end Jude Oyibo missed Buxton’s best opportunity, blazing a shot over from just outside the six yard box.

The second half was more entertaining with both the Dabbers and Buxton having opportunities to win the game.

Callum Saunders, Glover and substitute Joe Malkin all went close to grabbing all three points.

But it was keepers Will Jaaskelainen and Theo Roberts who won the day, making some fantastic saves to keep the scores level.

Nantwich boss Dave Cooke made three changes as Joe Mwasile, Toby Mullarkey and Nathan Cotterell all came in to start.

The Dabbers almost found themselves in on goal after two minutes when Troy Bourne spotted the run of Saunders however his ball was too heavy.

Nantwich applied most of the pressure in the opening quarter, winning a couple of corners but some resolute Buxton defending was clearing any dangers.

Threats from the visitors were mainly through Diego De Girolamo and the agile Jude Oyibo, who were keeping the Dabbers back line on their toes.

The latter had the best chance of the opening half, blazing a loose ball over the bar from eight yards out.

James Lawrie curled an effort just around the right hand post on the half hour mark in one of only a few Nantwich chances before the break.

Five minutes in to the second half, Jaaskelainen pulled off a brilliant save reacting to tip over a bullet header from Greg Young as the Buxton man came storming into the box.

The second period was more open as players were finding more time on the ball.

A couple of neat step-overs from Saunders on the right side of the box beat Alex Brown but his low shot was saved by Roberts.

Just after the hour mark, a lightning Dabbers counter-attack almost led to the opening goal as Mwasile sprinted three quarters of the pitch before feeding Glover who fired his shot over.

Chances continued to come for Nantwich as the half wore on with Lawrie finding himself in a great position from a corner but his shot was slashed wide.

Some more great work from Mwasile on the left hand side was causing the Buxton defence problems, as the winger squared a ball back to Glover in the box however a last ditch block denied him his first league goal.

Another fine Jaaskelainen save kept the game goalless as it headed into the final ten minutes, diving across his goal to turn a flicked Kayde Coppin header around the post.

Buxton keeper Roberts pulled off a top save of his own as a powerfully hit Lawrie effort was heading towards the top corner.

Then a golden opportunity fell to substitute Malkin in added time as a whipped cross into the six yard box was headed wide by the youngster.

Lancaster City are the next visitors to The Weaver Stadium this coming Saturday August 25 as the Dabbers look to remain unbeaten (3pm kick-off).

Nantwich Town: Will Jaaskelainen, Jamie Morgan, Nathan Cotterell, Joel Stair, Troy Bourne, Toby Mullarkey, Joe Mwasile (Craig Lindfield 73’), Caspar Hughes (c), Danny Glover (Joe Malkin 73’), Callum Saunders, James Lawrie. Subs not used: Matt Ellson (GK), Clayton McDonald, Jordan Davies

(Photos courtesy of Mark Welton)