Cheshire Senior Cup Final - Nantwich Town 3 Stockport Town 0
Wed 2nd May 2018 | County Cup Competitions | By Ian Templeman
Stockport Town's hopes of lifting the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first time were undone in a nightmare first half at the Millbank Linnets Stadium.
A first half blitz from Nantwich Town saw them go in 3-0 up at the break in a torrid opening for the Lions, with goalkeeper Kyle Haslam having to turn in an inspired performance to keep the half time deficit to just three goals.
After the break, the pace of the game dropped and Town came more into the game, but failed to make any inroads in breaking down the well-organised Nantwich defence, and the Dabbers held out in their second successive appearance in the final to lift the trophy.
The Lions are only the second North West Counties League club to reach the final of the competition, and the first since 2004 when Woodley Sports lifted the trophy with a 2-1 win over Witton Albion at Altrincham, but they were up against it right from the start once they conceded a penalty after just 41 seconds.
Town keeper Kyle Haslam was adjudged to have taken down a Nantwich attacker as he went to collect the ball, and Harry Clayton fired the resulting penalty straight down the middle of the goal to give the Dabbers a perfect start.
On 13 minutes Haslam made a smart save to deny Harry Clayton at his near post, and moments later Town had a let off when a Joel Stair header hit the back of the net, but the former Hanley Town man was ruled offside.
The pressure continued from Nantwich, and after Haslam made a great blocking save in a one-on-one with Jamie Morgan, the Dabbers doubled their lead on 16 minutes.
A Caspar Hughes free kick found Joel Stair in space at the back post, and his header beat Haslam from close range.
Town's first chance arrived on 26 minutes when Justin Pickering was played through on goal, but his well struck shot was comfortably held by Myles Boney in the Nantwich goal.
But two minutes later Town conceded their second penalty of the evening, when David Forbes went down under a challenge from Ezequiel Miranda and the referee pointed once again to the spot.
Harry Clayton stepped up to take the kick again, but on this occasion was denied by a great save from Haslam to keep the score at 2-0.
But Nantwich continued to dominate and after a Clayton header narrowly missed the target, they finally got a third goal a minute before the break when Matt Bell buried a shot from the edge of the box to round off a fine half for the Evo-Stik League side.
Conversely, it had been a difficult 45 minutes for Town, but to their credit, they came out and made a game of it in the second half and began to create some chances in the early stages after the break.
Conor Downes almost set up Treyvon Simpson inside the area, and Aaron Dwyer fired over after a surging run in the opening ten minutes, and at the other end Nantwich spurned another chance when Mwasile’s cross found Cotterell at the back post, but he missed the target with hsi header.
As the game wore on, chances became fewer, but in stoppage time, the Lions had another narrow escape when Clayton McDonald’s effort just missed the far post.
Moments later the final whistle sounded, and the Cheshire Senior Cup was destined for the Weaver Stadium, making up for the disappointment of last year when the Dabbers lost 2-1 to Crewe Alexandra in last year's final at Gresty Road.
Cheshire Senior Cup Final - Nantwich Town 3 Stockport Town 0
Wed 2nd May 2018 | County Cup Competitions
By Ian Templeman
Stockport Town's hopes of lifting the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first time were undone in a nightmare first half at the Millbank Linnets Stadium.
A first half blitz from Nantwich Town saw them go in 3-0 up at the break in a torrid opening for the Lions, with goalkeeper Kyle Haslam having to turn in an inspired performance to keep the half time deficit to just three goals.
After the break, the pace of the game dropped and Town came more into the game, but failed to make any inroads in breaking down the well-organised Nantwich defence, and the Dabbers held out in their second successive appearance in the final to lift the trophy.
The Lions are only the second North West Counties League club to reach the final of the competition, and the first since 2004 when Woodley Sports lifted the trophy with a 2-1 win over Witton Albion at Altrincham, but they were up against it right from the start once they conceded a penalty after just 41 seconds.
Town keeper Kyle Haslam was adjudged to have taken down a Nantwich attacker as he went to collect the ball, and Harry Clayton fired the resulting penalty straight down the middle of the goal to give the Dabbers a perfect start.
On 13 minutes Haslam made a smart save to deny Harry Clayton at his near post, and moments later Town had a let off when a Joel Stair header hit the back of the net, but the former Hanley Town man was ruled offside.
The pressure continued from Nantwich, and after Haslam made a great blocking save in a one-on-one with Jamie Morgan, the Dabbers doubled their lead on 16 minutes.
A Caspar Hughes free kick found Joel Stair in space at the back post, and his header beat Haslam from close range.
Town's first chance arrived on 26 minutes when Justin Pickering was played through on goal, but his well struck shot was comfortably held by Myles Boney in the Nantwich goal.
But two minutes later Town conceded their second penalty of the evening, when David Forbes went down under a challenge from Ezequiel Miranda and the referee pointed once again to the spot.
Harry Clayton stepped up to take the kick again, but on this occasion was denied by a great save from Haslam to keep the score at 2-0.
But Nantwich continued to dominate and after a Clayton header narrowly missed the target, they finally got a third goal a minute before the break when Matt Bell buried a shot from the edge of the box to round off a fine half for the Evo-Stik League side.
Conversely, it had been a difficult 45 minutes for Town, but to their credit, they came out and made a game of it in the second half and began to create some chances in the early stages after the break.
Conor Downes almost set up Treyvon Simpson inside the area, and Aaron Dwyer fired over after a surging run in the opening ten minutes, and at the other end Nantwich spurned another chance when Mwasile’s cross found Cotterell at the back post, but he missed the target with hsi header.
As the game wore on, chances became fewer, but in stoppage time, the Lions had another narrow escape when Clayton McDonald’s effort just missed the far post.
Moments later the final whistle sounded, and the Cheshire Senior Cup was destined for the Weaver Stadium, making up for the disappointment of last year when the Dabbers lost 2-1 to Crewe Alexandra in last year's final at Gresty Road.
