Nantwich Town continued their excellent form with another win by beating Stafford Rangers 2-1 at the Swansway Stadium, writes Liam Price.
The Dabbers made one change from Saturday’s win over Runcorn Linnets, with Gio Loureiro replacing Joe Robbins.
It was the visitors who had the first attack, a Stafford player letting the ball run through him allowed Ashley Fallon to run in behind but between them Ben Garratt and Troy Bourne did enough to stop the chance.
Nathan Sandison saw a shot blocked before John Atherton, fresh off his double against Atherton Collieries on Saturday, sliced a shot wide at the other end.
A smart Nantwich move ended with Loureiro crossing for Byron Harrison to head straight at Cameron Belford in the Stafford goal.
Kai Evans led a Dabbers counter that finished with him hitting low at Belford.
With two physical strikers in Dan Cockerline and Kaiman Anderson, and two wingers in Joe Morley and Atherton who almost made it a 4-2-4 formation in attack, it was being played more on Stafford’s terms in the first period.
Their pressing presented a chance when Kelvin Mellor lost the ball in midfield and Stafford broke.
In the end Cockerline squandered the chance by leaning back on his shot and curling it over the crossbar.
Morley’s dangerous left foot was getting crosses in with too much ease. Perry Bircumshaw was a picture of calm in dealing with one of them at the back post.
Fallon flashed a snapshot wide for Rangers before a Dabbers counter from a Stafford error saw a brief moment of a 4 on 3 but the ball got caught under Sandison’s feet and the attack petered out.
Sandison did threaten the goal though before half-time, a low powerful drive having to be pushed behind by Belford.
In the second half, Paddy Kennedy made a great interception at one end then a similarly important and effective challenge was made on Tom Pratt as he and Evans tried to work a chance on the counter.
Cockerline scuffed another half chance on 55 minutes, then Morley flicked a header across the face of goal as Stafford tried to maintain the pressure.
Dabbers boss Moran and his coaches made their first sub on 59 minutes, taking off Sandison for Joe Robbins to put another body in the middle of the park.
It paid off immediately, as Robbins won the ball back in midfield.
It was squared to Pratt now playing higher up, he pulled it to Loureiro whose shot was blocked across to Evans to tuck it in at the near post and open the scoring with his sixth goal in seven games.
The lead was doubled just five minutes later.
A corner floated in by Robbins was met on the volley by Mellor with a fine finish to make it two.
Stafford could easily have folded after a spell like that but they rallied.
A big deflection off a Dabbers leg could have been an own goal but spun wide.
They did get a goal back nine minutes after conceding the second.
It was Morley once more doing the damage with a cross, Garratt came out Schmeichel-style to block but it fell to Anderson to blast in from close range.
Garratt did make a vital save inside the last 10 minutes as Stafford sought to get something out of the game.
But the Dabbers should have killed it off on 86 minutes.
Belford raced out to try and get to the ball before Harrison but missed it and he rolled it to sub Callum Saunders whose well hit shot was flicked over the bar off the head of a Stafford defender.
Troy Bourne headed straight at Belford from the corner but that was that for the chances.
It was played out in front of a crowd of 906, the biggest at Nantwich for a league game since April 2022.
The next home game for Nantwich Town is against City of Liverpool on Saturday 2nd November at 3pm.
(Images courtesy of Jonathan White)
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