Nantwich Town tumble out of FA Trophy away at Stalybridge

FA Trophy Second-half action - Stalybridge penalty is converted by Scott Bakkor (1)

A second half penalty was enough to knock Nantwich Town out of this season’s FA Trophy away at Stalybridge Celtic.

Jamie Morgan’s push in the penalty box convinced the referee to award a spot-kick to the hosts.

And Fabian Speiss could not save Scott Bakkor’s 78th strike which earned Stalybridge a 1-0 win.

It had been a relatively even contest up until that point, with Joe Malkin, Craig Lindfield and Sean Cooke providing plenty of threat up front for the Dabbers.

Speiss was also called into action on numerous occasions as the hosts – below Nantwich in the league – looked to use home advantage in the cup clash.

Matt Bell’s effort almost gave Dabbers the lead on 56 minutes but it was cleared close to the line.

Then two minutes later, Lindfield was unlucky as his header from a fine Jamie Lawrie cross cannoned back off the Stalybridge crossbar.

Second-half action - Craig Lindfield header slams off the bar (1) — Lindfield header hits the bar

Callum Saunders saw a header drift narrowly wide from a Troy Bourne cross, before Speiss came to Nantwich’s rescue with a fine save with his legs as the hosts pressed forward.

Then came the push by Morgan on Sharp, and the penalty was drilled down the middle by Scott Bakkor to give the hosts the lead.

Nantwich huffed and puffed in the final 10 minutes, with veteran Steve Jones thrown into the action, but could not find a way through.

The Dabbers return to league action this Tuesday (October 30) when they welcome Warrington Town to the Weaver Stadium.

(Pictures by Jonathan White)