Nantwich Town 3
Flixton 3
League (NW Counties League Div 1)

Match Report

A late flourish gave Nantwich a home draw that had seemed unlikely when Flixton went up 3-1 up with 5 minutes remaining.
Nantwich’s never-say-die attitude paid dividends, though, and two goals in the last three minutes saw the Dabbers get the point their performance deserved in a highly entertaining game.
It was Flixton hit-man Rico Richards who inflicted the damage, bagging a well taken hat trick. He struck first in the twenty-fifth minute after a clumsy challenge by Dale Melling brought down Anthony Jones in the box. Stuart Heeps did well to push Richards’ spot kick on to the post but the Flixton striker netted the rebound.
Nantwich controlled most of the game. Adam Vickers powered three headers wide of the target and the Dabbers were unlucky not to equalise five minutes before the break when a rasping Mark Gardiner free kick rattled the upright. The home side did pull level on 63 minutes when Wes Wilkinson’s shot slipped through the hands of Flixton keeper Alan Osbourne and trickled over the line.
Within five minutes, though, Richards had restored the visitors’ lead as he sped past Nigel Gleghorn and Richards made it 3-1 when Heeps delayed his clearance and the Flixton hit-man nicked the ball off him and stroked home into an empty net.
But, with great credit, Nantwich stuck to the task. Wes Wilkinson got on the end of a Simon Hackney cross to grab his fifteenth goal of the campaign and, in a thrilling finish, Chris Hampshire fired in to the corner of the net from a Jon Dawson lay off to give the home fans some Christmas cheer.
Nantwich Heeps, Hall, Gardiner, Packham, Gleghorn, Buckle (Vickers, 15), Brookes (Hampshire,70), Melling, Dawson, Wilkinson (Thomasson,89), Hackney. Booked: Wilkinson (89 mins)
Flixton Osbourne, Dewar, Morris, Pavour, M Hall, Cooley, Woodford, Jones, Richards, Mitten, Burke (Brady,h-t). Booked: Richards (41 mins), Morris (72 mins)
Star Man Wes Wilkinson – Good team contribution rewarded with two goals

Match report written by Michael Chatwin